Celeste
by SissiCuddles
Summary: You've never seen such a shade of blue till you looked into her eyes & in that moment your life changed drastically. "And I'll have the courage to wait for you... a little longer. And I promise that from the windows, you shall see a sky so celestial blue"
1. Chapter 1

**Celeste**

I shouldn't be starting a new fic, should I? This idea has been bugging me for a while now and I really needed to write it down. I swear, I'll make sure to update my other stories soon :3

So, Celeste is such a beautiful name, isn't it? When I found out Lisa Edelstein's role on The Good Wife I was thrilled to know the name of her character. I have always loved this name and now Laura Pausini, an Italian singer, has wrote the perfect song for Cuddy and House and its title is Celeste.

P.S.: I have no idea in which year House and Cuddy met at college so I put 1988 because of reasons ;p

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

_You will have your father's eyes and his melancholy... the timeless silence which pervades the tide at sunset. _

_You'll come with the September's moon, which will pour its milk inside me._

_And I will love you, as it happens in fairytales, forever._

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><p><em>Michigan, ca 1988.<em>

"Kate, I need you. Please hurry up and get here." Lisa said in between tears. She set down the phone and crawled into her bed. She kept crying for what seemed an eternity before the door to her bedroom opened.

"Lisa, what the hell happened?" her best friend asked from the doorway. "You left the lecture before the professor dismissed it. Dr Clarkson was infuriated." she continued, throwing her bag in a corner. "Lise, what's wrong?" she asked as she laid down next to her. "Is it about that jerk again? Please, tell me he hasn't called you back."

"He hasn't." Lisa mumbled in her pillow. She then turned to face her friend and took a deep breath. "I'm pregnant."

Kate stiffened. "Is it House's?" she asked earning a nod from the girl. "Oh my god, Lise. Come here." she said, opening her arms to allow Lisa to come closer. "Shh. Everything is going to be okay." Kate tried to comfort her. Lisa let herself cry in her best friend's arms, stopping only when Kate suggested it was better for them to eat something. She then helped Lisa stand up and walk to the small kitchen. "You sit down and I'll make us something. Okay?" she said, wrapping a blanket around her best friend's small frame.

Lisa sat there on the armchair near the small window. She stared outside without really looking. She heard raindrops falling and hitting the ground, and undergraduates laughing in the rain as they ran from one classroom to the other. She heard the faint noise of a pot being placed on the stove and of cutlery being set neatly on a tray.

Lisa closed her eyes and placed a hand on her belly. A life was in there. A life she didn't want for herself. A life that reminded her of a man she'd fallen for and now was nowhere to be seen.

She missed him even though she had barely knew him; even though he probably didn't remember a her. She loved him and she felt like such a fool.

"Here you go." Kate whispered putting the tray on her friend's lap. "Eat it. It'll do you good." she said sitting on the couch.

"Thank you." Lisa replied.

No words were shared, only glances and a few tears.

"I don't think I'll be able to go through with it." she whispered in the end and Kate couldn't do anything but nod in understanding.

* * *

><p><em>Michigan, 7 months later.<em>

"Lisa, are you sure you want to do this?" Mrs. Thompson asked the younger woman. Lisa nodded her head, one hand supporting her back, the other resting on her pregnant belly.

"I can't raise a kid on my own. Not right now." she replied. "I know you will take better care of her than me."

"We won't be angry if you decide to keep her." Mr. Thompson added.

Lisa smiled. "Thank you, but I made my choice." she said, looking at Kate who was sitting next to her. "This baby can have a fuller and happier life with two caring parents. With me, she wouldn't have it." she said, on the verge of tears. "She needs you." she added in the end. Kate draped one arm around her friend and hugged her close to her.

"Have you chosen a name yet?" she asked with a sad smile.

Mrs. Thompson laughed. "We want something original but yet not too strange." Lisa nodded in agreement. "Do you have any idea?" she asked.

"No, I don't. But I'm sure you'll find a suitable name for this baby girl." she said with a smile. "It's better if I go now. My back hurts like hell tonight."

"Oh, can I do something to help?" Mrs. Thompson asked gently.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she gets a good massage and at least 9 hours of sleep." Kate assured the woman with a smile.

"Thank you Kate." she said, hugging the girl. "Lisa, if you need anything, call." she added, hugging Lisa tight.

* * *

><p><em>Michigan, one month later.<em>

"She's a beautiful healthy girl, Lisa" Kate said entering the room alone.

"I know." her friend said with a sad smile.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are on cloud nine. You should see them." she chuckled.

"I'm sure Mr Thompson is already smitten for that little creature." Lisa said, wincing in pain as she laughed.

"Are you okay?" Kate asked.

"Yeah. Stitches." she replied.

"Don't you think you should see her?"

"No." she replied firmly.

"Not even once?"

"I said no!" she hissed one more time.

Lisa tried to keep the tears from falling, but all her efforts were pointless. Warm tears wet her cheeks and she couldn't help but start sobbing. She didn't know when Kate joined her onto the bed, but when she finally stopped crying, her friend was fast asleep and the sun was setting. Lisa closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Two hours later when someone entered the room to check on her, she was still awake.

* * *

><p>The following day was a living hell. All her muscles felt sore and the pain in her abdomen was almost unbearable. They had told her it could happen, but she was sure something was wrong.<p>

"Lisa, are you okay? You're as pale as a ghost." Kate asked.

Lisa shook her head and clutched her belly. Kate ran out of the room and called a nurse, who immediately followed her inside the room. The older woman rushed to her side and gasped at the sight of blood pooling between the girl's legs.

"Oh my god." Kate gasped, rushing to soothe her friend. "Call the doctor, now!" she yelled to the nurse.

"I've just paged him." the nurse informed her, rushing outside to call for help.

"Kate..." Lisa whispered, groaning in pain.

"Everything is going to be alright." she shushed her, kissing her forehead gently. "I'm here with you." she said, letting the tears fall.

Two hours later Lisa was back in the room under a high dosage of sedatives. She couldn't open her eyes, or so she thought, but she could hear all the sounds playing around her. The noise from outside her room. Patients, doctors and nurses. The tapping of a pencil on a notebook. The low sighing of another person. Then the door opened and closed.

"Kate, what has happened?" Mrs Thompson asked in a hushed voice.

"Complications. She was immediately rushed back into the OR. They stopped the bleeding as fast as they could." Kate explained, walking closer to her sleeping friend, caressing her cheek.

"Will she be all right?" Mr Thompson asked from behind his wife.

"Yes, but the doctor said it might be impossible for her to have children in the future." she whispered.

"Oh god." Mrs Thompson gasped.

"We have already told her she can come visit whenever she wants." the man said to Kate who nodded in return.

"She doesn't want to. She said it's better if she doesn't even see her." she said. "And I think she's right" she concluded glancing at her best friend.

"We still have to choose a name." Mrs Thompson said after a while.

"I don't know what your final choice will be but I can assure you that girl will have the most amazing blue eyes." Kate said with a sad smile.

The coupled laughed softly and nodded.

Ten minutes later the door opened and closed again. And Lisa finally fell back to sleep.

* * *

><p>"<em>House?"<em>

"_Yes, who is it?"_

"_I'm Kate from Ann Arbor. I'm Lisa Cuddy's best friend."_

"_Yeah, I got that. Why are you calling?"_

"_It's about Lisa."_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_She was pregnant."_

"_What?"_

"_You've heard me. She was going to have your baby."_

"_Was?"_

"_Yes, was. She has lost it."_

_Silence._

"_Why are you telling me this?"_

"_I thought you needed to know."_

"_What can I do for her?"_

"_Don't look for her. Forget about her." she said and with that she ended the call._

_Silence again._

* * *

><p><em>Princeton, 10 years later.<em>

He was rushed into her ER that morning. Cuddy had tried her best to avoid him but the same afternoon he had shouted he had to see the Dean of Medicine of "this damn hospital", she couldn't avoid him anymore.

She observed him from the nurse station for a while. She then took a deep breath, straightened her coat and made her way towards his room. When she opened the door a woman was talking to him, hiding his face to Cuddy. She turned around to leave, but was stopped by his voice.

"Cuddy."

"House..." she said, her voice shaking. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, it has." he agreed and motioned for her to come closer. "This is Stacy, my girlfriend. Stacy, this is Lisa Cuddy." Stacy extended her hand and shook Cuddy's, who offered her a small smile.

"So, they told me you worked here but I didn't know you actually were the boss here." he commented.

"I am." she confirmed proudly. "Why did you want to see me?"

"I trust your medical judgment."

She snorted. "You've spent a whole semester mocking my abilities and now you're praising me. What do you really want?" she asked once again.

"He forced me to drive from Baltimore to Princeton in order to have your opinion on his own health." Stacy said. "At least, check on him."

Cuddy nodded and in that moment she knew he was going to be part of her life once again.

* * *

><p><em>Princeton, 4 months later.<em>

"I need a job." he said as soon as he sat on the armchair in her office.

"And how may I help you?" she asked from behind her computer.

"You could, you know, hire me?"

She snorted.

"Why should I?" she asked smirking.

"Because I'm a great Doctor and you have always had the hots for me." he explained seriously.

"So full of yourself, aren't you?" she joked, standing up and walking closer to him. "I knew you would come here after three months of sulking. I have set up a fund for a new Department." she said, handing him a folder. "Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital will have a Diagnostic department, with you as the Head of it. I'll supervise every your move. Every decision you take has to receive my approval..." she continued walking back towards her desk.

"Are you serious about this?" he interrupted her, while standing up with the help of his cane.

"I am." she replied.

House walked in front of her desk and extended his hand for her to shake. She was about to extend hers when he retrieved his.

"Even after what happened back in college, you still want to give me a chance?" he asked.

"I erased from my mind what happened back then. I hope you have too or working here will be a problem." she said coldly.

"Okay." he said, shaking her hand.

When he closed the door of her office behind him, she sunk down in her chair and stared at the door. Now he was officially back into her life.

* * *

><p><em>Princeton, 4 years later.<em>

They had been fighting the whole week and this time, all the efforts Wilson was putting into moderating the two of them, were pointless.

That evening he stormed into her office for the twentieth time that day.

"What the hell were you thinking when you annulled the nerve biopsy! Were you on crack or something? Because I see no reason why you should stop an exam which is of vital importance for discovering the patient's illness!" he shouted.

"House! That boy is barely 13! You cannot do a nerve biopsy on him!" she shouted back at him.

"Of course I can if it means I get to cure him afterward!"

"House! It's a no! I won't let you do such a thing to a kid!"

"Oh... come on, Cuddy! You're just upset because he's old enough to be your son!" he yelled at her, turning his back at her in exasperation.

"What did you just say?" she hissed under her breath.

"I said you're upset because he's 13 years old like your kid." he repeated.

"You have not just said that." she said, sitting down on her small couch, staring at him like she had just seen a ghost.

"Look, I'm sorry. I've got carried away..." he trailed off as he noticed the tears running down her face. "Cuddy..."

"How do you know?" she asked in a whisper.

"Kate. She called me when you were at the hospital." he explained.

"I knew she would, but I had hoped she would have been more clever and wouldn't tell you."

"I'd have found out sooner or later." he commented.

"No, you wouldn't." she said shaking her head. He sat down next to her and they sat there in complete silence for some time.

"It was a girl. A beautiful baby girl." she whispered then. House nodded than looked up at her.

"How do you know?" he asked shocked.

"Well, I gave birth to her!" she said looking at him confused. "You said Kate told you everything!"

"She told me you miscarried." he explained. "She said I needed to know and that I had to forget about everything for your sake."

Cuddy looked away from him, tears now falling freely. House stood there for a while, letting the information sink in.

"Where is she now?" he asked.

"I gave her up for adoption." she replied. "There was a couple I met at the clinic. I had debated whether to keep the baby or not. One day I went to the hospital, where I met the Thompson's. They couldn't have children. So I thought that I could give them happiness and not feel bad about terminating. Somehow I managed to convince them that my intentions were good and they accepted my offer."

"So, she's alive." he stated.

"Yes, she is." she said with a sad smile.

Silence.

"Promise me this won't change anything between us." she said a couple of minutes later.

"It won't." he said, standing up. When he reached the door, he stopped.

"Do you know her name?" he asked.

"Celeste."

* * *

><p><em>And then I'll have the courage to wait for you... a little longer.<em>

_And I promise that from the windows, you shall see a sky so celestial blue._


	2. Chapter 2

**Celeste**

Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews and for adding this story to your faves and alerts. I'm so happy you all liked the beginning. I still haven't planned the future of this story so I have no idea where this is heading. There are some quotes from "Let them eat cake", you know which quotes I'm talking about so you know they're not mine. Again, thanks to _partypantscuddy_ for beta-ing and_ liacuddles_ for sharing her thoughts with me about this chapter. Go check their fanfictions!

_JLCH:_ if you're reading this, thank you for telling me that I was (almost xD) right with the time thingy :)

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

_I will wait for you, without leaving as the swallows already do in the air; in my land which grows old but,in the wake of another age, dancing... it dreams as the tender east light illuminates hopes and brooms at dawn._

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><p>Fourteen years. For fourteen years he had been completely in the dark about his daughter. House sat alone in his office, his thinky-thinky ball going from his right hand to the left and vice versa.<p>

"You seem to be thinking deeply about something..." came the voice of his best friend. "Problems with one of your hookers?"

"Shut up." he replied firmly.

"Woah, aren't we happy today?"

"Shut up, Wilson. I really don't want to talk to you right now."

"What's wrong House?" he asked stepping closer to his friend.

"Nothing. Just... I want to be alone."

"Okay. Chinese at my place tonight?" he prompted but House shook his head no. "Okay. I'll see you tomorrow then..." he said exiting his office.

House sighed and closed his eyes.

He had never thought he could father a child or actually _be_ a father. He had never seen this girl but yet when he found out about her existence, he started feeling a connection, not only to her but to her mother. Cuddy. Was he still in love with her? He sighed, shaking the thought out of his mind.

All of this was driving him crazy.

All he could do was pretend that nothing had ever happened. That that one night-stand with Cuddy was just a fantasy and that the teenage girl parading such a beautiful name wasn't his daughter but a nightmare. A nightmare that he wanted to analyze, to study... to meet.

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><p>Fourteen years. She had managed to keep everything hidden from House for fourteen years. She thought she had done the right thing even though he had a right to know about their daughter. But how could she refer to that girl as their daughter when she had only held her once and House had only known about her existence for a couple hours?<p>

Cuddy took a deep breath, managing to stop the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She opened the bottom drawer of her desk and searched through it. When she finally found what she was looking for, she held the item right in front of her and smiled sadly. A beautiful 4 year-old with deep blue eyes and a thousand watt smile was staring back at her from the paper.

* * *

><p><em>An hour later.<em>

"Hey" Cuddy smiled shyly, entering his office. "May I?" she asked pointing to the ottoman under House's feet. He moved his legs and let her sit on it. "How's your patient?" she asked.

"Brain tumor. It was too small to be seen." he informed her. "Passed the case to Wilson."

"That is awful. He's only a kid." Cuddy said.

"Yeah..." he acknowledged with a nod.

"So..." she stalled.

"So... why are you here?" House asked.

"I wanted to apologize. I shouldn't have kept you in the dark about what happened years ago. I should have explained everything to you."

"It's okay." he mumbled standing up and walking towards his desk.

"No, it's not." Cuddy said following him.

"Cuddy, really, It is okay." he repeated, filling his backpack with his stuff. "You knew how I would have reacted to such a news. It wouldn't have been easy."

"You find _this_ easy?" she asked confused.

"I didn't say that." he stopped his actions. "I have just found out we have a daughter together, do you think this is easy for me?"

"No, I don't. I just... don't want things to change between us." she said walking closer to him. House looked down at her.

"They won't. I'll always be an insufferable ass and you'll be the boss who has to deal with my crazy procedures and all that jazz." he replied smugly.

"Okay." she said, offering him a small envelope. "Take it. I have had it for ten years, you can have it."

House took the envelope from her hand and opened it. He stared at the photo for a good minute.

"What if I want to see her?" he asked.

"That's up to you. As far as I know her family still lives in Detroit." she informed House.

"Have you seen her?" he asked.

"Once. Mrs Thompson insisted I saw her at least one time."she said with a small smile.

"How did you get the photo?"

"I was in Detroit for a conference and Mr Thompson recognized my name and tracked me down. We talked over a drink and he gave me that photo." she said motioning to the picture in his hands. "You can keep it. I have had another copy made." she said smiling at him.

She left his office, leaving him alone with his thoughts and feeling. House stared at the picture for a while more before hiding it in his wallet. He sat on his chair, closed his eyes and sighed.

How could he ignore that girl when she reminded him so much of Cuddy and himself?

* * *

><p><em>Princeton, Two years later.<em>

"You're not stopping me for medical reasons. You're stopping me because you have the hots for me!" he told her smugly. She gaped at him and stood up from his office floor.

"You are still here because you have the hots for me!" she spatted back.

"Evidence by the fact that I'm the one who moved into your office-" he said, earning an eye-roll from Cuddy.

"It's the biggest office and I'm not the one who destroyed-"

"Why are you dressed like that?" he said, ogling her breasts. "Why do you try so hard to get my attention?" he stopped. "Are you screwing with me?" he asked. She eyed him, taking one more step close to him.

"Are you screwing with me?" she asked back.

"Depends on your answer..."

"Everybody knows this is going somewhere." she said firmly. She inched even closer to him and he didn't move, but leaned into her. "I think we're supposed to kiss now." she whispered, her lips almost touching his. She looked into his eyes and licked her lips before closing the final gap between them. House didn't react at first but then pressed his lips to hers with more intensity.

When they broke the kiss, Cuddy closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest, enjoying the closeness of their bodies. House's hand lingered on the small of her back, drawing small circles.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked, her voice muffled from her position against his chest.

"I don't know." he said truthfully. "I think we should talk things through and see where to start."

"When did you get so smart?" she asked smiling up at him. Their eyes met once again and her heart skipped a beat.

"I've always been so smart. It was time you figured that out." he replied smugly. She smiled up at him and pecked his lips. House deepened the kiss but they were both brought back to reality when his phone went off.

"House..." he greeted his team. Cuddy in the meanwhile sat back down on the floor and gathered all the files sprawled all over the carpet "Get her off the antibiotics and get your asses here ASAP!" he closed the call and rubbed his eyes, trying to wipe the tiredness away.

"Patient's gotten worse." he informed Cuddy, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"Don't worry, we'll talk once you're done with the case, okay?"

"Doctor Cuddy..." a nurse called for her.

"Yes Linda?"

"There's a man down in acceptance asking for you." the young nurse informed her.

"I'll be right down." she told her. Once the nurse exited the office, Cuddy looked back at House. "I better get down now." she said. "You go cure your patient." she said with a small smile. "I'll talk to you later." she concluded before walking out of the office.

House walked outside onto the small balcony he shared with Wilson and stared at the park that faced the hospital. Wow, what has just happened? He asked himself. They kissed and agreed to talk things through. Would he be able to be in a real relationship with her? To be the supporting and caring boyfriend she deserved? He sighed and re-entered his office before moving to the DDX room where his team was now taking a seat. He re-read the symptoms and cleared his mind before putting his brain to work on a different topic.

* * *

><p>"Brenda, where's the man who wanted to see me?" Cuddy asked her head-nurse.<p>

"He's sitting just outside the door. Said he hated hospitals and asked to meet you outside." she explained while pointing to the bench under the tree, right in front of the glass doors.

"Thank you" she thanked Brenda, before walking towards the doors where the man was waiting for her.

"Uhm, hello?" she asked, trying to get the man's attention.

"Lisa..." he greeted her with a warm smile. "You haven't changed a bit."

"Mr Thompson! Why... what are you doing here?" she asked, accepting the man's hug.

"A lot of things have happened..." he answered sadly.

"Are Celeste and your wife alright?" she asked.

"Like I've already told you, a lot of things have happened."

"Uh... should we talk somewhere more private?" she asked.

"Nah, maybe we could indulge in a walk in the park. It soothes my troubled mind and aching heart."

Cuddy nodded her approval and pointed to the park's direction. The man followed her and soon Cuddy was reached by a wave of sadness and understanding. Something bad had happened and by the man's face, Cuddy understood that something even worst was about to happen. Soon. Very soon.

"You see, my wife died a couple of months ago." Mr Thompson informed her.

"Oh, I'm... I'm sorry for your loss."

"She'd been ill for almost two years. Leukemia. All the doctors we had seen tried their best but all the therapies prolonged her life but didn't cure her."

"How's Celeste doing?" she asked concerned.

"She's such a strong young woman." he said. "She's coping quite well considering how devastated she had been when they told her they couldn't help her mother in any way." he explained. "And I fear, my dear, that she'll need more support soon." Cuddy looked at him and noticed how he trembled.

"Mr Thompson..." she stopped walking.

"Huntington's development can be quite fast. My doctor said my wife's death was the starting point of all my symptoms." he said, smiling sadly at the woman.

"There's no cure but we're starting a new program here. I have two of the best doctors in my hospital working on it. I can get you into the list and..." Cuddy started but he cut her off.

"I'm already on that list." he informed her. Cuddy nodded slowly and resumed walking. "My dear, you're a great person and I'm sure you'll do great in the future with Celeste."

"What?" she asked, stopping dead in her track. The man looked back at her.

"I'm dying and Celeste is still so young. You're the only person she has."

"I can't..." she whispered as tears threatened to fall.

"Yes, you can. And I won't accept no as an answer." he said sweetly, embracing Cuddy one more time. "She'll love you. Just give her time... and she'll understand."

Cuddy stared at him dumbfounded and incredulous.

"This is my number." he said, giving her a piece of paper. "We're staying in the hotel across the street. I'm starting the trial in two days. So, I'll see you then." he said still smiling sweetly.

"Mr Thompson..." she called him.

"Yes?"

"Does she know about me?" she asked.

He smiled. "She knows she has a biological mother somewhere and I can assure you, she'll soon recognize you."

"How?" she asked not understanding the man.

"You will see."

Cuddy stood there, watching the man walking towards the direction of the hotel. She took a deep breath and turned towards the hospital, still visible from where she was standing. She took a step ahead but then stopped and turned towards Mr Thompson. A girl was with him, wearing a pearly white smile, brown curly hair and the most wonderful blue eyes she had ever seen.

Cuddy smiled softly and let the tears fall freely down her cheeks. Things were going to be hard but she was sure than in the end everything would be okay.

* * *

><p>And the sky is so celestial blue...<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts? Like, Dislike, Hate? Please leave a review :3<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Celeste**

First of all, I'd love to thank all of you who reviewed and added the story to their faves :) It warms my heart how much you appreciate the story, from the plot to the style of my writing. So, I'm taking some time to thank some of you directly :)

**anon:** thank you so much, I really appreciated your reviews. You make me want to write and write and write :)  
><strong>newdayz: <strong>sorry to inform you that the "happy huddy family" prospect won't come soon into the picture. Problems and problems and problems ahead. But you know me, I can't stay away from fluff and romantic when it comes to fanfiction :)  
><strong>Sheis1963 (aka English Muffin, Funbags McBooty):<strong> boobies. Your face mine.  
><strong>LapizSilkwood:<strong> Cuddy cries a lot or at least she tries to stop herself from crying a lot, but she is still a bamf. You shall see soon :)  
><strong>JLCH:<strong> oh, honey, you shall see what actually happened in that two years long gap :)

Oh and there wont' be Rachel in this fic. Thanks again to _partypantscuddy_ for beta-ing and _Sheis1963_ and _LiaCuddles_ for helping me out :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

_You shall have books, sandals, beach buckets... bright memories. Black like mine will be your hair._

_But in a second I know, you'll fly away towards the distant island of a city,as I did once, my love..._

* * *

><p>"Celeste?" he called for her.<p>

"What's up dad?" she asked running into the room.

"Sit down with me." he said, motioning to the couch. Celeste smiled sweetly and snuggled at his side, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I love you so much, you know that?"

"I love you too dad."she whispered, kissing his cheek.

"The experimental trial starts in two days and I need you to know something..." He trailed off. When Celeste looked up at him confused, he continued. "You know it might work and it might not."

"Dad..."

"Honey, I am being realistic." He shut her up and then took a deep breath. "I want you to know that the trial is not the only reason we are here. When I'll die, you won't be alone. Your mother will be here to support you."

"What?" Celeste sat up straight.

"Your biological mother lives here."

"You can't seriously believe that I want to meet the woman who ditched me when I wasn't even born!"

"Celeste! I won't let you speak ill of her."

"Come on!" she protested.

"Celeste, wasn't I clear enough? I don't want you to talk about her in that way."

"Dad, this is insane. You're not dead yet and maybe the trial will work. You can't really want me to meet that woman."

"That woman did a pretty brave thing. She gave birth to you. She gave you a chance. What if she hadn't?"

Celeste looked helplessly at him and sighed. "I don't know. It's just... she gave me up sixteen years ago, why would she be willing to meet me after all these years? What tells you that she is willing to put up with her biggest mistake? Huh?"

"You're not her biggest mistake." he told her calmly.

"I'm still a mistake."

"No, you're not. She was too young to know that you would have been the spark of her life." he said with a small smile.

"Why do you always have to go poetic on me?" she asked, smiling back at him.

"Because I know you're a sucker for poetry." he said holding out his hand for her to take. Celeste sat back on the couch next to her father.

"Does she know I'm here?" she asked.

"She does." he said, stroking her hair.

"What's her name?"

"Lisa. Lisa Cuddy."

* * *

><p>"Hey..." she said entering his office.<p>

"Hey, can you give me back my furniture now? The floor isn't that comfortable, you know?" he replied.

"I'll have maintenance bring everything back when they're done with my office. It'll take a couple more hours or less." she said kneeling next to him. "How's the patient?"

"She spiked up a fever and now she's sweating blood. I have no idea what's wrong with her. Every time we seem so close to a solution a new symptom comes along and messes everything up."

Cuddy simply nodded in understanding.

"Another annoying donor to look after?" he asked after a while.

"No, surely a donor would have metaphorically been a walk in the park." she said. "It was Mr Thompson."

"That Mr Thompson?" he asked confused.

"Yes. House I don't know what to do nor think any more."

"What's wrong?"

"His wife died a couple months ago from Leukemia and now he was diagnosed with Huntingtons. He's starting the trial here in two days and Celeste is here with him."

"Let me guess, he wants you in her life once he's gone." he tried.

"Yes, he actually wants me to meet her while he's still doing the trial."

"And how is this a problem?" he asked.

"I don't know House. A part of me says that giving her up was wrong and this is a chance for me to get things back to how they were supposed to be. Another part of me keeps saying that this is wrong and that there are so many things in my life that I still have to deal with and having Celeste in my life will make everything even more complicated."

"Cuddy, I know this is very not me, but Celeste is your daughter. You two deserve the chance to try a life together."

"I know but, I have my job that keeps me on a strict lifestyle and I have so many other things to deal on a daily basis."

"What other things?"

"I don't know right now..." she mumbled.

"I guess I am one of those things, ain't I?" he asked with a smirk, earning a smile from her.

"I have to admit that you are one of the reasons my life is so messed up. And I have a feeling that whatever we have now won't interfere with your master plan for making my life a living hell."

"That sounds a lot like something I would do." he confirmed earning another smile. "So what shall we do now?"

"Grab something to eat and drive over to my place?" she prompted, standing up and looking down at him. House nodded and took the hand she was offering him and stood up. Cuddy helped him up and he intentionally fell against her, sending her against the nearest wall.

"Oh, Doctor Cuddy, I'm so sorry." he said in a mocking way.

"It's no big deal, Doctor House." she replied with a smirk, her hands on his chest."But if an Oncologist was to see us, we would never hear the end of it."

"Oh goodness, I haven't thought about Wilson. He'll pester me about this."

"Well, he'll find out about us sooner or later." Cuddy said. "And if we stay like this for a little more I'm sure your team will enjoy the show." she said, tilting her head towards his back. House turned around just in time to see his team walking down the hallways towards the office.

"I'm going down to check on my office. I'll see you at my place once you've finished here, okay?"

"Okay." he said taking one more step back from her. Cuddy smiled one more time before exiting his office. She walked down the hallway towards one of the doors that allowed her to the stairs. Once the door closed behind her, she let herself sink down against the wall, suddenly feeling a huge weight on her shoulders. Cuddy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could do this, she repeated to herself. She could do this.

* * *

><p>It was half past nine when House finally solved the case and made his way to Cuddy's place. He knocked gently on the door and waited for her to open the door. Five minutes later and Cuddy was nowhere to be seen. House checked under the flowerpot and found a key.<p>

The lights were on in the kitchen. He made his way towards the room, but stopped when he heard a noise in the living room. Cuddy was laying on the couch. Her laptop was on standby on the coffee table, a glass of wine next to it. House walked closed to her. He spotted a blanket on the armchair and draped it over Cuddy. She moaned in her sleep and snuggled under the warmth.

House glanced one more time at her before moving to the kitchen. He opened the fridge looking for something to eat.

"All super healthy crap..." he muttered while examining a loaf of bread. After making himself a sandwich, he sat at the table and checked his phone.

"Hey there..." came her voice from behind him.

"Hi."

"Sorry, I fell asleep." she said sitting next to him, still holding onto the blanket. "Did you find out what was wrong with her?"

"Yeah, we put her under antibiotics and she'll be discharged in a couple days." he informed her.

"So..."

"So..."

"This is kind of awkward."

"That's because we have been avoiding this conversation for almost 20 years."

"Yeah..." Cuddy confirmed.

"Look... I like you and you like me. Let's see what this brings."

"So... whatever we have will come around while time goes by."

"Yes."

"But this is something serious not a sort of double life thing." she said gesticulating.

"It is." he said.

"What?" she asked clearly dumbfounded.

"It's serious." he said, chewing on the last bite of his sandwich.

"Okay."

"Okay." he repeated. "You're not going to make me sign a contract, are you?"

Cuddy slapped him on the arm and laughed.

* * *

><p><em>because the sun can forget about the moon.<em>

* * *

><p>Share your thoughts with me :)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Celeste**

I'm extremely sorry for the delay but school has been a real nightmare. But now that school's over I hope I can manage to write more :) A big fat cuddly thank you to my beta, partypantscuddy, and to my fellow lisabians who gave me a second opinion about this chapter, Sheis1963 and LiaCuddles.

**Chapter 4**

"Daddy?" Celeste mumbled, poking at her father's side. "Come on dad, we have to be at the hospital in less than an hour." she continued, causing her father to roll onto his side, giving his back to her. "Come on! I'm giving you five minutes or I'm coming back with a bucket full of water."

"Using the same threats your mother used with you, isn't subtle at all." the man mumbled sarcastically while slowly getting out of bed.

"Ah ah ah." she yelled from the hallway. The man smirked and shook his head.

"So..." the girl started as he entered the bathroom. "I've already had breakfast and I've packed something for you to eat after therapy since the doctor said you can't eat before." she said gesturing with her toothbrush to the kitchen, before rinsing her mouth with water. "Got it?" she asked as her father stared at her dumbfounded.

"Got it." he said with a smile, coming closer to her. "What would I do without you?" He said as he hugged her.

"You'd starve to death." she said with a smirk.

"That's for sure." he confirmed, attempting to brush his hair.

"I was wondering..." she started, pausing mid-sentence. "Will she be there at the hospital?"

"I'm positive she'll be there, though I don't know if you'll be able to see her. Her job keeps her extremely busy from what I know." he explained.

"Ok. And will you tell me if we see her?" she asked.

"Celeste..." he said turning towards her. "Are you really ready for this? I know I've put you in no condition to chose, but I want what's best for you."

"And how do you know this is what's best for me? I have never seen this woman and she has never seen me. What if she doesn't want to meet me? If she doesn't want me?"

"Celeste... baby... she loves you more than you could possibly realize." he concluded, hugging her tightly to his chest.

"I don't want to lose you." she cried against his shoulder.

"You won't lose me, love. Never." he whispered in her ear, kissing the crown of her head. "Never."

. . . . .

"House!" she called his name.

"Dr Cuddy, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked, limping towards the elevators. Cuddy followed him and stopped in front of the automatic doors.

"I have a case for you." she said with a small smile.

"Good." he said, once again calling for the elevator. "Care to join me upstairs?" he asked, as the doors opened. She walked past him and smirked.

When the elevator closed she turned to him.

"Hi..." she said biting his bottom lip.

"Good morning sunshine." he greeted with a small smirk.

"I missed you last night." she said, lifting herself on her tiptoes to peck his lips. "I'm sorry I had to work late." she concluded pouting.

"It's no big deal. As much as I've missed a mind-blowing sex session, there was a new episode of Jersey Shore on TV, so..." he trailed off.

She slapped him in the chest and looked outraged. "You've got to be kidding me!" she said in disbelief.

"Seriously Cuddy? Do you really think I watch Jersey Shore?" he asked. Cuddy glared at him. "Oh, come on! I haven't watched it since Snooki got pregnant and decided to broadcast the birth of her kid. Though it kind of sounds appealing..." he trailed off again, earning another slap from Cuddy.

"Abuse, woman! Abuse!" he whined. Cuddy still glared at him as they exited the lift and headed towards his office. "I was kidding, you know that right?" he asked.

"Of course I know. I just like to manhandle you." she replied, smiling subtly, earning another smirk from him.

"So... today's the day." he said while settling at his desk. Cuddy nodded and leaned against his desk at his right. "I have checked Foreman's agenda and the first group starts at 10."

"Yeah, I know." she confirmed.

"Twenty minutes from now." he continued.

"I know."

"Then why are you still here?" he asked. Cuddy looked up at him confused. "Aren't you supposed to sneak down to Neurology and get a peek of _her_?"

"No!" she almost barked angrily. "I can't."

"Why? You've waited this moment for the past 16 years." he continued.

"I know... I just... I can't." she mumbled. "I'm pathetic. I have a daughter whom I've never seen and yet, when she's in the same building as me, I can't muster the courage to go down and meet her."

"I didn't say you need to meet her. Not for now." he said standing up. "You just... go down to Neurology and look at her. No talking, no hugging, no crazy stalking kind of thing though." he said trying to cheer her up. He caressed her arm and kissed her forehead after checking that no one was watching.

"Should I really do that?" she asked, leaning her forehead on his chest.

"You should." he nodded.

"What about you?" she asked looking up at him.

"Me what?"

"Don't you want to go see her?" she asked.

"I... It's not that I don't want to see her... It's just that..."

"You have already seen her." she stated shocked. "You have, haven't you?" she asked angry at him.

"Cuddy..."

"Where you even going to tell me?" she asked stepping away from House. "You know what? It's no big deal. Really..." she said walking towards the door. "I'll see you later, okay?" and with that she stormed out of his office, leaving House completely dumbfounded.

What the hell was wrong with her? he wondered. It's not like he had actually met Celeste. He had simply taken a glimpse of her as she walked through the park with her father.  
>He had been shocked when he saw her. He was faced with a 16 year-old version of Cuddy, but she had her father's deep blue eyes. House had shook his head in disbelief. He had hoped that puberty would have changed her a little, leaving only a slight resemblance to her birth parents. But no. She had grown to be the exact copy of the two of them mixed together. Her eyes were House's blue, but the shape was definitely Cuddy's. Her lips were thing like his and her cheeks as rosy as Cuddy's. Her curly hair was just like her mother's but a shade lighter.<p>

In that moment House had realized that his life had a new sparkling light in it. Celeste was actually his daughter. His and Cuddy's. And he was going to make a positive future out of that situation.

. . . . .

"Dad, this hospital is great!" Celeste said pointing towards the paintings in the hall. "It looks professional and yet classy. Whoever designed this entry gets my approval." She said smirking.

"Looks like you're still set on studying internal design, huh?" her father mumbled.

"Yes, I am dad." She confirmed with a smile. "So, here says Neurology is on the second floor…" she stated, calling for the elevator.

"Dr Cuddy!" they heard a nurse call. Celeste immediately tensed.

"Is that her?" she asked in a whisper, not daring to turn around to see her.

"Hey, it's okay. She's as scared as you are." He tried to soothe her.

"I can't. I really can't." she mumbled. "As much as I want to see who she is, I can't." She immediately walked inside the elevator and tugged at her father's hand. He glanced at the woman as the nurse walked away from her and nodded at Cuddy with a small smile, before entering the elevator.

. . . . .

"I'm an idiot." she mumbled under her breath. "I'm a fucking idiot." Cuddy repeated one more time as she walked towards her office.

"Dr Cuddy!" Nurse Brenda ran after her. "Dr Foreman and Watson want to know if you plan on introducing the trial to the patients and family."

"I don't think it's necessary." The doctor replied firmly. "Just tell them that if either the families of the patients want some explanation they can come to my office, okay?" The nurse nodded and ran back to her desk.

Cuddy's attention was drawn to a man standing by the elevator with a girl. Mr Thompson nodded at her and smiled. She replied with a nod as the girl tugged at her father's hand, looking like she was completely oblivious to her.

As he entered the elevator right after Celeste, Cuddy stalked through the crowded clinic and closed the doors to her office behind her. She sighed and shook her head. She could do this. Today wasn't anything special, she tried to convince herself. She'd have more than one occasion to finally meet her. She could wait a little more.

. . . . .

"Good morning Dr…" Mr Thompson said, offering his hand for the man to shake.

"Dr Foreman." The man replied shaking his hand and Celeste's.

"Andrew Thompson"

"Nurse Amanda will show you to your seat." The Neurologist said. Amanda smiled gently at the man and pointed towards one of the free seats. "I'm sorry, but family can't assist to the first part of the treatment."

"Oh…" Celeste stopped in her tracks.

"Can't you make an exception for this time?" Mr Thompson asked.

"I don't think it's possible." The doctor confirmed.

"Come on, Eric. Let the girl stay." The woman sitting next to Celeste's father said. "Nothing will happen." She continued, gesturing to the chair in between the two seats. "And I'm sure she can entertain us for the next hour or so." She concluded with a smile.

"Okay, but if Dr Watson comes here, the responsibility of this is on you." Dr Foreman agreed.

"Thank you." The woman said with a smile. "You have to stop being so uptight." She smirked.

Celeste thanked the doctor and sat in between the woman and her father.

"Thank you." She told the woman.

"You're welcome." The woman smiled. "I'm Dr Remy Hadley, but everyone calls me Thirteen so… fell free to call me that." She said offering her hand.

"I'm Andrew Thompson and this is my daughter Celeste." he greeted shaking the doctor's hand.

"You're a Doctor?" Celeste asked. Thirteen nodded.

"And do you work here?"

"I do. I work in the Diagnostic Department with Dr Foreman." She said. Seeing that Celeste was now looking at her confused., she explained better what her job consisted in.

"So, you are part of a team of doctors that tries to diagnose weird stuff." Celeste resumed.

"Mmmm… that's a way of putting it" Thirteen said with a smile.

"Good morning to everyone." Said a female doctor, who stood next to Dr Foreman. "I'm Dr Watson and I'm head of this trial. Everything you need to know, you can ask me or Dr Foreman. For anything else, the Dean of Medicine will be glad to answer to all of your questions. Her office is on the ground floor, just inside the clinic." She paused looking at Celeste for a while. "I'll call your names one by one and you'll come to my office and I'll ask you some questions. So… Goldstein Adam, come with me. Mr Andrew Thompson, you're up next. Dr Foreman will show you to my office in a while." She concluded and with that she left, followed by Mr Goldstein. Less than five minutes later Foreman motioned for Mr Thompson to stand up and follow him.

"So… you live here in Princeton?" Thirteen asked.

"Nope. We live in Detroit, though we moved to Philadelphia with my aunt after my mom passed. And now we're in Princeton for this experimental trial." The girl replied, shrugging in despair.

"Wow… you went through hard stuff. I've lost my mother too when I was a kid too. I know it's hard to deal with all that, but you seem to be a strong one and what you're doing for your father is brave. I'm sure he's proud of you."

"I know he is. I just… I'm so afraid of being alone." Celeste said wiping her eyes even though she wasn't crying.

"You'll go through that. I can assure you. See? I'm still alive and even though I have Huntington's I'm not giving up on my life. I have a great job, a nice boyfriend and I'm happy. Your father is not going to leave you anytime soon." Thirteen tried to comfort her.

"I hope you're right." She said sniffling. "Can I ask you something?" the girl asked as her father left the room with Dr Foreman.

"Of course. Ask away." Thirteen smiled.

"Do you know Dr Cuddy?"

"Of course I know her. She's the boss here." The young doctor explained.

"Really?" Celeste asked surprised.

"Yes. Dean of Medicine and Chief Administrator. The place wouldn't survive without her."

"Wow…" she stated still in disbelief. "And what does she look like?"

"Dark curly hair, light blue eyes, thin and always impeccably dressed. Not the usual Dean of Medicine, I'd say though she's perfect for the job." Thirteen described her. "Now that I think of it, you look a lot like her."

"Do I?"

"Yes, you do. A lot." Thirteen confirmed. "Why are you so interested in her anyway?"

"I… I guess I had heard my father talk about her with someone a couple times and I was curious to know who she is." The girl replied flatly.

"Thirteen…" Foreman called for the doctor, who smiled at Celeste and left.

Celeste sat there waiting as her father laid on the armchair next to her, scratch pad on her lap. She drew and wrote random stuff, wondering when she'll be able to actually look at her biological mother in the face.

. . . . .

_Later…_

"Hello dear, what can I do for you?" a nurse asked Celeste as she approached the main desk in the clinic.

"Hello, my father has joined the Huntington's experimental trial this morning and he feels nauseous. I was wondering if you could give me something for him." The girl explained.

"I'm sorry honey, but I can't give you anything without doctor's orders, plus you're underage and it'll be a lot of trouble." The nurse explained right before Nurse Brenda arrived. "But I'll see what I can do." She smiled politely at her. "Brenda…" she called the Head Nurse and explained to her. "Is Doctor Cuddy still here?" she asked at the end.

"The lights are on in her office." Brenda said. "I'll ask her. Come with me." She told the girl. Celeste froze. "Hey, are you okay? She's not going to eat you, you know?" Brenda joked.

Celeste walked towards her and together they made their way through the clinic and inside Cuddy's outer office. Brenda knocked on the door and smiled at Celeste.

"Come in" the doctor said, without looking up from her laptop. Brenda motioned for Celeste to remain outside, while she entered the office.

"There's the daughter of a patient of the new experimental trial asking for some meds. Her father couldn't make it to the hospital so she came here alone, but she's underage. What are we supposed to do?" Brenda asked.

Cuddy froze in her seat and looked up at the nurse.

"Where is she?" she asked.

"She's just outside the door." Brenda informed her.

"O-Okay. Let her in. Thank you Brenda." Cuddy said standing up from her desk and looking outside the window. She heard the door open and close and few steps.

It took Celeste a while to actually take control of her voice but, after she choke the first few words, she managed to talk properly. "Ehm… I'm sorry to interrupt your work, but my father is not feeling well. I need something for his nausea. Dr Watson, I think her name was, said we could come to you if anything was needed."

Silence.

"I would have looked for Dr Foreman, but I have no idea where to find me and the nurses outside took me here." She continued.

Silence.

"I-…" she started again.

"I'm sorry." Cuddy finally said. "I'm so terribly sorry."


	5. Chapter 5

**Celeste**

So... THIS IS IT! Celeste and Cuddy are finally in the same room... ready for some face to face mother-daughter talk? I am! Pay attention to the A/N at the bottom :) Thanks again to _partypantscuddy_ for beta-ing :)

**. . . . .**

**Chapter 5**

"_I-…" she started again._

"I'm sorry." Cuddy finally said. "I'm so terribly sorry."

. . . . .

Cuddy turned around, finally facing the girl. Both of them gasped in surprise.

"Oh my god…" Cuddy choked out, covering her mouth with her left hand. Celeste tried her best not to cry. In front of her stood an older copy of herself. Cuddy's hand immediately grasped at the desk, seeking support.

"Please, don't cry! Or I'll end up crying too." Celeste said trying to lighten up the situation. Cuddy sniffled and smiled.

"Can I?" Celeste asked pointing to the couch.

"Of course." Cuddy said as she sat at the other end of the couch. They sat in silence for a while.

"So..." they started together. "Oh you go first..." they continued, before chuckling. "You go..." said Cuddy.

"They told me you're the boss here." Celeste stated calmly, causing Cuddy to chuckle nervously.

"I am. And if you need anything or need more information about the experimental trial, you can ask me. Which reminds me, what's with your father?"

"Ah... he's been feeling nauseous. Dr Foreman said it's normal but I was worried so I came here and asked for something to ease his nausea."

"Wait..." Cuddy said, standing up and opening her laptop. "Andrew Thompson, right?" she asked for confirmation as she typed something. Celeste hummed in agreement. "Okay..." Cuddy stood up and disappeared outside her office mumbling something. Ten seconds later she was back smiling nervously. "A nurse is going to come back in a while with your father's meds." she told the girl, sitting back on the couch.

"Thank you." Celeste smiled softly.

"Look... I know this is awkward..." Cuddy started.

"It is..." Celeste confirmed.

"But I want to make _this_ work if you agree." she continued. "I know you probably have mixed feelings about this whole thing and I don't want to pressure you into anything you don't feel ready to do..."

"Are you doing this because you feel guilty?" Celeste asked out of the blue.

"What? No." Cuddy shook her head. "What I did 16 years ago was the best thing I could have ever done. As much as I would have wanted to keep you with me, I do think I made the right choice by giving you up for adoption."

"I..." Celeste started.

"No, wait!" Cuddy cut her off. "I was young and I wanted a successful career more than anything. I'm not saying I gave up on a life with you because of my ambition, because when I found out about you my priorities changed. For nine months my whole life revolved around you." Cuddy concluded on the verge of tears. "And as much as I want a kid, I'd never ever force you into starting something now."

"I hated you." Celeste whispered. "When I first found out I had been adopted, I truly hated you. I couldn't imagine how a mother could give her own daughter to a couple she barely knew. Mom and dad told me a lot about you and they made me realize that what you did was for the best. You gave me a chance to grow up in a family that truly loved me and with that I'm not doubting that you cared for me back then." She stopped smiling softly. "But only now I realize that I want to get to know you, because even though you haven't been my 'mom' for the past 16 years, you're still my mother."

A knock came from the door. Cuddy stiffened and straightened up a little. And so did Celeste.

"Come on in" Cuddy said. Nurse Brenda entered the office wearing a small smile. She handed the pills to Dr. Cuddy and exited the office once again. "So... what do you want us to do?" the doctor asked as she walked towards her desk.

"I don't know... I guess we could have lunch together or dinner for a start." Celeste said standing up and moving towards the desk too.

"That's okay for me. How does lunch tomorrow sound?" Cuddy asked, scribbling something down on a piece of paper.

"Ah, I should ask my father but I don't think it will be a problem." the girl replied with a smile.

"Okay. I'll pick you up at 1, is that okay with you?"

"Perfect."

"Perfect." Cuddy smiled sweetly, though clearly hiding her nervousness. "So... here's the pills for your father. Everything you need to know is written on that post-it but if you need anything else this-" she handed her another piece of paper "-is my number."

"Thank you." Celeste thanked her. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes. I'll walk you out." Cuddy proposed.

"There's no need. Really." the girl said. "Plus I know how to defend myself. All those karate lessons were pretty useful." she said mimicking something Cuddy supposed was karate-related.

"Good night then." Cuddy said with a small smile.

"Good night!" Celeste replied with a smile of her own. She opened the door and took a step outside before turning on her heels and making a bee-line towards Cuddy. The doctor looked at her dumbfounded for a moment until Celeste's arms wrapped around her in a hug. Cuddy smiled and wrapped her own arms against the girl. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling till the last second. Celeste broke the hug and smiled.

"I'll see you tomorrow." she repeated before leaving again. When Celeste closed the door behind her, Cuddy finally allowed herself to sink in her chair and ponder about what had just happened.

Sighing, she picked up the phone. After dialing House's number, she looked outside into the clinic, where Celeste was waving goodbye to the nurses.

"House." he answered.

"Hey..." Cuddy said with the ghost of a smile.

"Hey..." he replied clearly surprised.

"Look about this morning... I'm sorry. I was a total idiot." she paused. "I know it must have been hard on you too and the situation isn't really the best I had hoped for but... I know we can do this together."

"I should have told you though..." he cut her off.

"No, House. It was your right to see her. I behaved like a complete idiot today and I'm sorry." she concluded. "Do you want to do something tonight? I want to make it up to you." she said smiling. They had been together for only a couple days and still hadn't been on a real date nor actually had sex, but they had had lunch together and stolen moments around the hospital during pauses.

"Dinner somewhere?" he asked.

"I was thinking more on getting take-away and staying at my place." she proposed.

"Let's stay at my place tonight. I have cable and stuff." he mumbled embarrassed.

"That's okay." Cuddy said with a smile.

"Okay... I'll see ya then."

"See you..." she closed the call, chuckling to herself.

This could all work out, she was sure of that.

. . . . .

**Next chapter will be a Huddy hardcore one, hell yes! ;p Should I move this story to M-rated or not? **


	6. Chapter 6

**Celeste**

I haven't written smut in a whole year or something like that so please bear with me, though I must admit that as soon as I started typing I already knew how the scene was going to be. It was like I already knew every little thing. So, here's the hardcore Huddy chapter I had promised and the M-rated stuff ;)

. . . . .

**Chapter 7**

"How was work?" Cuddy asked, playing with her chopsticks. House looked away from his plate.

"My boss is kind of the ultimate pain in the ass, but everything went well." He replied with a smirk. Cuddy glared at him before stealing one of his shrimp from his plate. She gave him a wicked smile before chewing on that shrimp.

"I met Celeste." Cuddy said after swallowing her food. "She came to the hospital looking for antiemetics for her father. Nurse Brenda brought her to me and… we talked." She explained with a smile. "We're having lunch together tomorrow."

"That's… good." He commented.

"Do you mean that?" she asked him, putting down her plate on the coffee table and sitting closer to him on the couch.

"Yup…" he nodded, wrapping an arm around Cuddy's shoulder. She smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Do you think Mr. Thompson will make it in the end?" she asked. House looked down at her. "As far as I know his symptoms have developed quite fast and the trail might be a total waste of time for him. And what if it doesn't work?"

"Huntington's can be a total bitch. Thirteen has no symptoms yet, but I had a patient a few years back that had developed its first symptoms when he was 20. There is no way of knowing how long it's going to take for the illness to become unbearable and even then, I don't know what Mr. Thompson wants to do." House said. Cuddy sighed.

"Celeste looks so much like me." She commented after a while. "When I first looked at her, I was so scared. She stood there in front of me and I couldn't say a word. It was awkward but in the end we managed to talk a little."

"I'm sure it's going to be alright." House said kissing the crown of her head. She smiled, locking her eyes with his.

"Can I have one more of your shrimp?" Cuddy asked grabbing one of her chopsticks and waving it to House. He chuckled and nodded. She grinned and stuck the chopstick into the shrimp.

"That's not how a chopstick should be used, you know that?" House asked amused by her actions.

"Shut up and eat!" Cuddy said, offering him half of the shrimp before pecking his lips. She took the plate in her hand and sat back next to House.

They ate together, using the chopstick in their savage-like way till both of them were too full to handle anything else.

. . . . .

"I've missed this." Cuddy murmured standing so close to House she could feel his breath on her cheek, right before he pressed his lips hungrily against hers. As she gently yet needy bit his bottom lip, they immediately opened their mouths in unison, gently letting their tongues intertwine. Cuddy moaned, followed soon after by a groan from House.

With all the other men Cuddy had been with it had always been a desperate need for release. She was simply looking for someone who could fulfill a woman's needs. Harsh kisses, fast and hard movements, pure lust but no Passion with capital P. She had felt good every single time during and after sex; there was no way she would have ever let a man leave her to the prospect of a cold shower or to take matters into, quite literally, her own hands.  
>But as far as Cuddy recalled, she had never been with someone she truly loved. Not even back then, 16 years before Celeste was conceived. House and her were young and possibly drunk out of their asses, It had been a night of mutual release of tension. There had been lust, Cuddy had to admit, but not Passion.<p>

Now, as House kissed her with such need, passion and love she couldn't help the tears forming in her eyes. She was overwhelmed by all those feelings and sensations.

He pulled gently away from the kiss, feeling her stiffen a little against his chest. He looked up at her and rested his forehead against hers.

"Hey..." he murmured.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." she started but stopped herself as a sob escaped from her lips and shook her tiny shoulders. "So many things have changed since the other day and I'm..." she sobbed again.

"Cuddy, it's okay to feel a bit overwhelmed." he replied kissing her softly. Cuddy immediately leaned onto him and pulled him even closer by circling her arms around his neck. She felt his arms moved down towards the small of her back and she relaxed a little.

"I'm sorry I'm being the ultimate cock-block tonight" she said sniffling softly, moving her head to rest in the crook of his neck. House chuckled, his head coming to rest on hers. He inhaled the scent of her and closed his eyes.

"You're not blocking anything." he said. "We promised to each other we're giving this a try and we're going to try our best at this relationship, which means that I'm here to support you through everything." he spoke softly, surprising Cuddy a little. She lifted her head up from her new favorite spot and looked into his eyes. She saw nothing but sincerity and what she supposed was love on his face through the fresh tears falling on her cheeks. She wiped them away with her left hand while the other rested on his shoulder.

Cuddy pecked his lips and leaned forward, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly, never wanting to move from that position, letting her head fall to his shoulder, sighing contently.

After a good minute, Cuddy let him go and House gently untangled himself from her arms, taking her hand in his. He walked towards his bedroom, Cuddy trailing after him. They sat on the edge of the bed, side by side . She relaxed against his side, her head once again on his shoulder, as his arm circled her back, hand resting on her hip.

"Why is our history so complicated?" Cuddy asked under her breath. "I mean, look at our history. We've been running around in circles for 17 years and only now we're coming to the conclusion that we should give _this_ a chance. We have a daughter, House, who we barely know and who doesn't even know about you and your role in her life." she continued, turning slightly to face him. "What if we screw everything up, House?" she paused. "If we do, we have nothing left." House stared at her for a while before his hand moved to her face, caressing her cheek and drawing her towards him. Their lips barely had the time to touch when he deepened the kiss.

"I want this Cuddy" he whispered in that throaty voice of his. "I want _this_ more that I have ever realized before." he continued, kissing her lips one more time.

"_This_ will work." Cuddy said, suddenly feeling her fears fade away. "It will." she repeated almost beaming, looking straight into his eyes.

She grabbed his face with both her hands and pulled him into a heated kiss, pressing her chest against his. Feeling her curves pressed against him, House slowly pulled her onto his lap, her legs on either side of his. He gently kissed down her neck, leaving butterfly kissed along her neck and collarbone, sucking lightly in the most hidden zones, expecting Cuddy to yell at him for leaving hickeys in inappropriate places. Cuddy's mouth opened in pleasure as she moaned and panted. He let his hand wander up her sides, feeling the fabric of the blouse and stroked her shoulder, then her arms. She arched her back, her ass pressing against his thighs, her pelvis against his hips. House sucked in a breath at the pressure and friction Cuddy's body was giving him.

Their lips never separated as she started loosening his belt, while he moved his hands to her chest, cupping her through the blouse. Cuddy moaned into his mouth and deepened the kiss, letting her tongue once again mingle with his. He rapidly got rid of her blouse and she did the same to his T-shirt. His arms wrapped around her and he gently laid her down onto the bed. His broad chest pressed against her soft yet firm curves and House couldn't resist any longer. He greedily kissed the exposed skin of her breasts before unclasping the bra, mentally thanking Cuddy for wearing that bra. He covered her breasts in kisses and gentle licks.

Cuddy's legs wrapped around his hips as she cradled his head in her hands and urged him to continue his ministrations. The feeling of him focusing solely on her pleasure was sending her over the edge. Her hands moved south, finally allowing them to rest on his hips and descending then to his muscular ass. She squeezed him and chuckled and as a reply he bit her, causing Cuddy to whimper in pleasure.

Her hands started tugging his jeans down, helping herself with her legs and feet.

"Chill, monkey." House murmured grinning. Cuddy huffed impatiently as he stood up and let his trousers fall to the floor. In the meanwhile Cuddy had finally removed her skirt and was staring at him with a small smile on her face. She felt good, wanted and… loved. She felt Passion drawing her to him and it was a safe bet to say House felt the same.

As soon as Cuddy felt his hand palming her over her underwear, she gasped out, unable to believe how good a simple touch from him could feel. He gently rubbed the pad of his thumb across her slit, enjoying every gasp and moan. Cuddy's hands moved to his shoulders, her nails scraping the skin. Mouth against mouth, roaming hands.

She pulled him even closer, bare skin met bare skin and they both moaned at the feeling. She thrust her pelvis against his hand, asking for more contact. Her last item of clothing was now hanging around her left ankle; she soon discarded it by kicking it off.

His mouth moved down, tracing a path from her mouth, down to her neck, collarbone, breast, belly button and finally it reached its final destination. He licked her in her most intimate place. Cuddy felt herself let go, chills running down her spine. Her arms went above her head, her hands now grasping the sheets. She felt him smile against her heated skin and moaned loudly.

He wanted her just as much as she wanted him. He was pleasuring her in every way he could think of and the only thought of having her trembling in pleasure under his hands was enough to have him shudder in ecstasy. She was his now. And he was hers only.

Her breathing picked up as he slid two fingers inside of her. Her back arched, her mouth hung open as she panted. Cuddy felt him move between her thighs, the loss of contact made her whimper but soon he was hovering over her, his lips crashing against hers. The feeling of their heated and sweaty naked bodies against one another was overwhelming to say the least.

"I need you so much…" House mumbled.

He slowly pushed into her. Cuddy threw her head back while House's head rested between her shoulder and neck as they gasped in unison.

Both had the same feeling of finally being complete, of finally having found something or someone worth the long wait. Nothing was amiss in that moment.

They started a slow and careful rhythm, loving and enjoying every single moment of their sensual dance. Caresses and feather like kisses were soon left behind feeling the pressure building and House picked up the speed. She moaned his name in between thrusts, her hands roaming his broad back. His hand reached down and gently rubbed her clit with one hand, the other paying its attention to her firm breasts. Cuddy felt that tingling sensation building in her stomach and she couldn't recall it feeling so good. As she felt her lover's hand move to her clit she moaned loudly, knowing she could not hold on any longer.

Suddenly Cuddy halted, sucking in a breath and House knew she was extremely close to her climax, but wanted to hold on for him. When her inner walls started clamping around him, he kissed her with as much fervor as he could muster.

"Let yourself go…" he murmured against her lips as he thrust one more time, hips slamming against hers.

"Oh god…" she screamed, her mouth looking hungrily for his. 

She felt a single tear falling from her closed eyes from the feeling of pure ecstasy that was radiating from inside her. She felt complete, fulfilled but most of all she felt desired and loved. She had never thought it would have been like this with House; it had been completely different from their one night stand at college.

As she screamed his name she felt him let go as well. They both gradually came down from their mutual highs; him gently lying on top of her before sliding to her side. She gasped when he slid out of her and kissed her sweetly on the lips. House felt her smile against his lips, he opened his eyes and looked at her. Her eyes were still closed, her cheeks rosy. A wide smile graced her lips and he couldn't suppress the urge to touch those lips with his thumb before lifting her chin to kiss her one more time. Cuddy opened her eyes and looked up at him still smiling.

No words were needed between either of them. Cuddy laid her head on his chest and sighed content. House lifted the covers as she snuggled against his side. His arms wrapped around her in a loose yet safe hug. They fell asleep soon after, lulled by their breathing.


	7. Chapter 7

**Celeste**

I've taken some time off from Twitter because real life was being a bitch and twitter wasn't helping. I'm still checking my mentions and DMs on a daily basis, so don't worry. I'm still alive, not suicidal and feeling a lot better. I want to thank my lovely best friend, _Sheis1963_ and my trustworthy beta, _partypantscuddy_. This chapter is longer than usual: the first part focuses on the development of Celeste and Cuddy's relationship, while the second is hardcore huddy (part of it is M-Rated) with a twist in the end (I'm telling you Sheis1963 hates me for the way I ended the chapter. She thinks it's against the law lol).

. . . . .

**Chapter 7**

Cuddy woke up that morning at the sound of her phone going off. She switched the alarm off and couldn't help but smile as she took sight of the room she was in. She let out a soft chuckle and a contented sigh. House though was nowhere to be seen. She stood up and groggily made her way to the bathroom to get ready for work. Minutes later she was in the kitchen, her hair up in a messy ponytail and a towel wrapped around her body. She walked into the kitchen and immediately spotted the empty cup on the table. The corner of a piece of paper peaked out from under it. She took the mug and looked at him. "I like them feisty" she read and let out a soft laugh. Leave it to House to choose this mug for her. Next thing she read was the note in his strangely neat calligraphy. "Got called in. Patient's gonna pay for it. H" she chuckled and placed the post it on his fridge, before looking around for the coffeepot. The coffee was still warm and made her finally snap out of her daze. As happy and comfortable as she was feeling in that moment she had to get ready for work.

She was supposed to have lunch with Celeste today, Cuddy mused as she applied her make-up. She was happy and relieved that the girl was comfortable with spending some time with her, but she was also scared. What if Celeste changed her mind? Cuddy shook her head and smiled at her reflection in the mirror, all the negative vibes settling down replaced by an extremely positive feeling of happiness.

. . . . .

Celeste was scared. She glanced at her cell phone as 1 PM approached. Her father was sitting in the armchair next to the small sofa reading the paper and huffing at the umpteenth article about the economic crisis in Europe.

Their hotel room was huge; she should have expected it since her father had wanted the presidential suite at all costs. Celeste stood up and walked around the room. Andrew glanced at his daughter and chuckled.

"What is it now?" the girl snapped, looking at her father questioningly.

"You're nervous." he stated.

"No shit Sherlock!" she said looking outside the window towards the park.

"Calm down. There's nothing to worry about." he replied calmly.

"Don't tell me to chillax, dad." Celeste said sitting back down on the couch. Mr. Thompson laughed at her choice of words. Her phone went off, startling her.

"Dear god, why do you have a heavy metal song as a ring tone?" her father asked looking up from his newspaper.

"I like that song." she said, checking her texts. "Dr. Cuddy will be here in 5. She has just left the hospital."

"Do you have everything you need?" Andrew asked, earning a nod from her daughter. "Then have fun." he waved at her.

When the door closed behind her shoulders, he chuckled and shook his head. On the other side of the door, Celeste sighed before walking towards the elevator gathering her strength in the meantime.

. . . . .

"Hi..." Celeste said as she sat in the car.

"Hi" Cuddy smiled at the girl and drove off. "How are you?" she asked.

"I'm fine." she paused. "And you?"

"I have felt better. A patient throw himself against the glass wall of his room and succeeded in knocking it down, fracturing his left arm in several places and he almost lost an eye." she said, huffing. Celeste stared at her wide-eyed.

"Seriously?" she asked, utterly terrified yet amused. Cuddy smiled.

"Unluckily it's not the first time." she informed the girl, taking a glimpse of her with the corner of his eye. "Especially if the patient is being treated by the Head of Diagnostic Medicine and his team."

"Oh, Remy told me about some of the crazy stuff that had happened in the past few years." Celeste said chuckling.

"Remy?" Cuddy asked.

"Uhm... They call her Thirteen."

"Dr. Hadley, yeah. She is part of the team. And Dr. Foreman too."

"She told me her boss is crazy but a real genius." the girl said, causing Cuddy to smirk. "Why are you smirking?"

"Nothing..." Cuddy replied trying to keep a straight face.

"They also told me he has killer blue eyes." she continued and Cuddy let out a throaty laugh.  
>"Smexy hair and ruggedly handsome look." Cuddy continued, knowing exactly who the source of such description was. "Did Nurse Jeffrey tell you that?" she asked, amused.<p>

"Yeah... he seems to have quite the crush on him." Celeste sniggered.

"He's been drooling over him for some time, though he keeps acting like he hates the man's guts. House can't stand the man for real, though." Cuddy chuckled, while parking the car in the nearer free spot.

"House?" Celeste asked confused.

"Yeah, the Head of Diagnostics." Cuddy said stopping the car. The young woman didn't miss the sultry look that crossed Cuddy's face as she mentioned the man's name and gave her a knowing look. "Here we are." said stopping the car.

Celeste got out of the car and waited for the woman to do the same, before following her inside. They were lead to a small table in the small garden by a charming waiter.

"Here's your menu" the young man said, handing the copies to the ladies. "What would you like to drink?"

"Water, please." Cuddy said, looking at the menu.

"Do you have green tea?" Celeste asked. The waiter nodded before leaving, but not before taking one last glimpse at Cuddy.

"Uhm... he was checking you out." Celeste whispered.

"I know, that's why the menu is suddenly so interesting." Cuddy replied still 'reading' the menu, but smiling.

"I don't see a ring on your finger." The girl said after a while.

"You don't." Cuddy said, closing the menu. "I'm not married..." she trailed off, seeing the waiter making his way towards them with a smile.

"Are you ready to order?" he asked, looking directly at Cuddy still smiling.

"Yeah, a Caesar salad for me..." Cuddy said smiling politely but obviously uncomfortable.

"Mom, a salad? Dad is going to hate me if I let you only eat a salad." Celeste started with exaggerated enthusiasm. Cuddy stared at her confused before understanding her plan.

"He'll be okay as long as you don't tell him." she said. "But maybe we should bring him dessert when we're done, you know, to make it up to him." she said smiling at her daughter. The waiter's smile turned into a frown.

"Only if I can take a coconut milkshake home after we're done. And yes to the dessert thing." The girl said. "Oh and veggie lasagna for me." she concluded, closing the menu and handing it to the poor miserable waiter, who immediately left with their orders. When he disappeared, they both burst out laughing.

"That was fun. Thank you for saving me." Cuddy said sipping on her glass of water.

"Oh it's no big deal. Wouldn't want your boyfriend to get jealous." Celeste smiled.

"How do you know I have a boyfriend?" Cuddy asked, surprised.

"I guessed. You're beautiful, nice and successful... you must have a boyfriend." She said sipping her green tea. "That or you hate every male specimen on the face of earth." She said with a smirk. Cuddy looked at her for a couple seconds. She reminded her so much of House: the smirk, the sense of humor, the sarcasm and those deep blue eyes.

"Well, I do have a boyfriend... but it's something new... I'm not really the relationship material." She explained. "I haven't had a serious relationship in years..."

The waiter arrived at their table and placed their orders in front of them and they began to tuck in.

"So... I had this idea last night, something that will help us get to know each other better and easily..." She started, taking a forkful of her lasagna. Cuddy waved her hand and looked up at her, indicating that she wanted her to continue. "I ask you three questions, you answer then we switch. If you don't want to give an answer to a question, you can pass, but only once every three questions." She finished.

"That's okay with me." She said, straightening her shoulders and looking expectantly at her. "Who's going to start?"

"You start." Celeste said with a smile and pretended to get ready like those people on quiz shows on TV. Cuddy chuckled.

"Okay. I'm going to start with random questions. First question... what's your favorite color?" she blurted out. Celeste laughed and stared at her for a while.

"Okay," She paused. "I don't have a favorite color, though I have a soft spot for pink."

"Second question, what music do you listen to?"

"Ehm. Everything, I guess. If you scroll my iPod you can read Metallica, System of A Down, Madonna, Lady Gaga and even Bach, Schumann and Beethoven." she replied with a smile, her eyes alight.

"You seem to like music." Cuddy commented with a smile. Another common trait with her father, she mused. "Last question... do you have a boyfriend?"

"I don't... I'm a nerd. I'm weird and a loner. I have very few friends and no boyfriend." she said with a smirk.

"But you surely have someone that picks your interest..."

"Of course. His name is Peter Facinelli and is the most handsome vampire DILF on the face of the planet and of course a pure figment of an imaginary world created by a mediocre writer. But the actor's hot." she explained.

"Carlisle Cullen?" Cuddy asked amused.

"Tell me you're not one of those delusional adult women sexually frustrated over the Twilight saga!" Celeste muttered.

"God no. I like Harry Potter more." she stated, surprising the girl. "My sister has three kids and I'm the cool aunt who takes them to the cinema as soon as a new movie is out and corrupt them with popcorn." Celeste laughed.

"My turn! Okay... Have you always wanted to be a Doctor?"

"Since I was 12." she said with a proud smile.

"When I was that age I had been convinced by my cousin that I wanted to become a stripper. Then they explained to me what that meant and I decided upon changing my mind and following the path to become a mad scientist." she joked, causing Cuddy to laugh out loud. "Uhm..." She paused. "Favorite sex position?" Cuddy gaped at her while Celeste gave her a smug smirk.

"Ehm... I think I'll pass that one." the woman replied.

"Good! That was embarrassing and for a moment I feared you might actually answer that question. It was part of my plan to make sure you'd answer this one." she explained still looking smug. Cuddy was once again gaping at her. "So... Do you know who my father is?" She finally asked. Cuddy closed her mouth and finished off her glass of father in few gulps.

"I do know who your father is." she confirmed.

"Does he know about me?" Celeste continuing.

"That is a fourth question." Cuddy noted.

"You decided to pass the second." Celeste replied. "Either you answer to the second question or to this one."

"You're a sneaky little thing, you know that?" Cuddy said trying to take some time to think about her answer.

"I'm being mean..." Celeste said. "And I'm sorry but I really, really want to know about him."

"No, you're perfectly right in wanting to know about him." Cuddy sighed. "I do know who your father is and he knows about you. When I first found out I was pregnant I didn't tell anyone except my best friend. He had been expelled from University and moved elsewhere to continue his studies. After I gave birth to you, my friend called him and told him the whole story adding that if he was clever enough he would never show his face to me again." Cuddy concluded with a sad smile.

"So you haven't seen him since then?" The girl asked.

"Yeah..." She lied.

"Were you in love with him?" She asked, surprising Cuddy, who stiffened in her chair.

"I guess I did in a way..." The woman confessed with a small sad smile. If House were to hear her right now, he would completely freak out.

Suddenly Cuddy's pager went off. She fumbled with the waistband of her trousers and unhooked the pager.

"It's the hospital." she said, reaching for her phone which immediately started ringing.

"_I like big butts and I cannot lie... You other brothers can't deny...that when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in your face... you get sprung..."_

Celeste immediately burst out in a loud laugh at the obnoxious ring tone, tears welling up in her eyes.

"House..." Cuddy mumbled, knowing full when that this was one of his many pranks. She immediately silenced the phone and called for the waiter to get their check.

"House did that?" Celeste asked between tears and laughs. "God, that man is genius!"

Cuddy's heart flipped upon hearing the girl's comment.

"He's always pulling pranks on me and the rest of the stuff. One day he and Wilson decided the hospital main hall was a great place to play Dodge ball." She said with a soft laugh.

"He seems like a cool dude." Celeste said standing up and following Cuddy out.

. . . . .

_Few days later…_

As House came around the corner, he caught her singing while she scrubbed the kitchen floor on her hands and knees. She was almost completely hidden by the table in the center of the room. From the door he could only see part of her backside and her flip-flop clad feet.

"Your ass looks even bigger from up here." He said, leaning against the door frame. Cuddy stilled and looked up at him.

"How the hell did you get in?" she asked, standing on her knees and rinsing the cloth she was using before standing up and removing the iPod from the station on the kitchen counter.

"Key under the flower pot." He explained taking a step towards her.

"Gregory House, you stop right there." She ordered, which instantly caused his feet to stay firmly in place. "I've been scrubbing this place clean since I came back home and I have no intention of letting you walk in with your dirty shoes."

"I was just admiring your rock star moment." He said with the hint of a smirk on his lips. Her head popped up and looked at him questioningly. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked, hoping for her sake that he didn't see her during Like a Virgin.

"Unluckily for me I arrived right after Madonna stopped being a virgin." Cuddy sighed in relief. "I had never expected you to be a fan of Lady Gaga." He continued, this time he didn't hide the smirk.

"I always put together a poppy, energetic playlist for me to listen to when I'm cleaning. It's got Madonna, Britney, Gaga, Katy Perry. Sometimes I throw in oldies like Carole King or…" She trailed off, scrubbing on a particularly nasty spot. "I wasn't expecting an audience." She said, hiding her smile.

"I can always come back later once you're done." House said.

"No!" Cuddy yelped. "No, stay…" She said in a sweeter tone. He nodded and shrugged off his blazer. "How's the case?" she asked going back to that awful spot of God knows what.

"Richardson is cutting his head open as we speak." He replied, causing Cuddy to stare at him wide-eyed. "Brain tumor." He explained. "The team will monitor him for the night, but I'm still on call if anything happens."

"Don't you have a lady coming here every day to clean the whole house?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "Then why are you scrubbing the kitchen floor like the ultimate slave?"

"I realized that my reaction to stress lately is either crying or stuffing myself with food. Crying isn't exactly the beauty treatment I want on a daily basis; and I don't really feel like gaining weight I'll have to lose in a future. This leaves me with finding new activities in my free time." She explained with a frown.

"You're serious?" He asked, looking confused and in a way also amused by her reasoning. "Why cleaning?"

"First thing that came up to mind." She mumbled. He attempted to take another step into the kitchen.

"Stop right there!" She said while glaring at him.

"Why do you want me to stop right here? I just want to check your playlist." He questioned both amused and annoyed.

"The floor isn't dry yet." She said in a "duh" tone.

"How were you going to get out of the kitchen if you were scrubbing yourself into the corner?" He asked with a slightly teasing tone.

"I would have crawled out." She replied while looking around. "It would have been mostly dry by the time I got around the table and back there."

"Are you almost through cleaning?"

"Almost." She said and disappeared behind the table. "Sit on the couch, watch some TV, do whatever you want to do…" He made a move to turn but in the end decided to stay there and watch her.

She started to back up while continuing to scrub away and humming to what he recognized as Bad Romance. As Cuddy continued patiently cleaning the floor, her flip-flops, followed by her skin-tight jean clad legs came into full view. Her butt swayed in time to the music in her head. As she kept crawling backwards, her shirt hung away from her waist, almost giving House a view of her flat stomach.

"Remember when you were in a similar position in that tight burgundy dress?" He questioned with a smirk on his lips.

"How could I forget?" she asked sarcastically. "You ripped that dress off of me in no time." She chuckled. "It was an original piece from the fifties and I had paid a lot for it." She glared at him, though her glare didn't last long as he winked at her. It had happened a couple days before. They had just gotten home from the theater and she was taking off her earrings when one fell under the bed. Needless to say, House walked into her bedroom in that very moment. The dress tight around her hips and backside. As she looked for the lost earring, he had slapped her ass playfully. What he didn't expect was the soft moan that escaped her lips. "You never saw perfect Donna Reed on her knees like this." She said teasingly as her entire body came into view.

Her hair was tossed up onto her head in a messy knot, curls escaping wildly from everywhere. The purple tank top she wore was tight around her breasts and stopped right above her belly button, while the shirt she wore above, was loose around her tummy.

"I can't imagine her down on her knees scrubbing the floor like a slave; I'm sure she had someone doing all the work. On the other hand, I could imagine her down on her hands and knees for other reasons." He said before letting out a laugh and a yelp as Cuddy threw one of her flip-flops, hitting him in the stomach. She looked at him and pushed a stray curl out her eyes with the back of her wet hand.

"I really don't want you imagining any other woman down on her knees. If not that actress who played the cop." She surprised him.

"The one we saw on TV the other night?" he asked, receiving a nod from Cuddy. "Lesbo!Cuddy, huh? Me likey." He exclaiming covering his crotch, scared that Cuddy might threw her other flip-flop at him. But all she did was chuckle.

"If I were interested in women I'd surely give her a go…" she continued.

"Wet floor be damned!" House muttered under his breath as he stepped into the kitchen and walked towards his girlfriend.

"House, what the hell!" She said looking up at him with a put out expression. He stared at her for a while before holding out his hand for her to take.

"What?" She spat out annoyed. House kept staring at her, waiting. In the end she threw the scrub brush in the bucket and wiped her hands on her shirt. She reached up and he effortlessly pulled her to her feet and against his chest.

He smirked at her and pecked her lips. She pulled back a little and stared at him dumbfounded, before letting go and nuzzling his neck with her nose.

"Hi." He said, his hands resting on the small of her back.

"Hi…" she replied looking up at him. "You're cleaning up, you know?"

"Oh, come on." He said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"You are." She snapped.

"Do I really have to clean what is already immaculate?" he questioned raising his eyebrows.

"You can always try to change my mind…" She teased, slapping his ass and smirking.

He leaned down and kissed her. She yelped in surprise as he reached down and grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her on the kitchen top. She quickly relaxed as she felt the cold surface under her and lazily wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing a kiss on the corner of his lips.

Her hands pulled the back of his head toward hers as her tongue slid across his bottom lip, looking

for a way in. House scooted her further onto the counter and she pulled away to get as comfortable as she could on the granite. His lips moved to her cheek and followed the trail to her neck and collarbone. House slid his hands under the hem of her tank top, but her hand reached for his and stopped their trail up her sides.

"Not here" she whispered breathlessly.

"We are alone. You're not expecting any guest and the curtains are drawn. No one can see us from the outside" He reasoned with her while his lips lingered on the exposed skin of her shoulder.

"It's not that." She replied, almost embarrassed. "It's that I just scrubbed every inch of this kitchen."

House chuckled but she insisted, slapping his bicep and pouting.

"The kitchen really is immaculate. Looks like it's new… I think we should christen it." He suggested, his lips sucking at the base of her throat. Her hand moved to the nape of his neck and she let her fingers play with his short graying hair.

He lifted his left hand to her cheek and stroked it gently, drawing her into a passionate kiss. He broke the kiss.

"Then what's wrong with here?" She bit her lip.

"It's not exactly sanitary." She blurted out.

"Cuddy!" He sighed. "We did it on my bathroom's floor this morning and should I remind you that I used to live with a rat?"

Cuddy shuddered. "House, there's a thing called bed. Its main purpose it to sleep on it but it can be used to have sex on it." She explained as if she was talking to a kid (even though she could have passed for a creepy pervert if she had talked about beds and the activities linked to that piece of furniture to a kid.)

"Beds are for sissies." He replied, sticking his tongue out at her. She leaned back slightly, supporting her weight on her hands and cocked her head to the side with an adorable smirk on her lips. She let out a dramatic sigh and shook her head. "No, this kitchen is immaculate. It almost sparkles and I'm not letting you mess it up as much as I'd like the outcome of our future activities." She concluded and made to hop off the counter.

"But you're wrong, Cuddy" he stopped her, securing her legs at his sides. "You missed a spot." He pointed out.

"Where?" she asked and sat up straighter to look for the offending spot of dirt.

"Right here," he said, running his fingers along the line of dirt that marked her shirt from the top of her right breast down to her waist. She glanced down and snorted.

"That doesn't count." She said, trying to sound not as aroused as she was. Cuddy was about to speak again, but she stopped as he cupped her breast and massaged it softly. She involuntarily leaned into his touch and groaned in disappointment when he retrieved his hand. "You could always make claims about the dirty thought in your mind." she suggested, obviously giving up but trying to make it sound as if she was right after all.

"You would probably have to wash my brain with soap…" he said, placing wet kiss on her neck. "Then rinse my mouth with some mouthwash… and probably sweep me out of the kitchen."

"Or I could finish cleaning up right here?" she suggested, now playing along.

He lifted her shirt a few inches higher, her eyes alight with the prospect of his mouth and tongue on her stomach. She reached down and pulled her dirty shirt and sweaty tank top over her head and tossed them aside. House grinned at her choice of underwear.

"Dr. Cuddy, were you planning on seducing me?" he asked looking down at the black lace cupping her perfect chest.

"And if I were?" she teased, biting on her bottom lip. He cupped her breasts through the lace and gently kneaded her flesh through the thin material. She reached behind her and easily unclasped it; the bra fell from her shoulders and in a matter of seconds his lips attacked the newly discovered skin. She arched her back and pulled his head closer, one hand now gripping his hair while the other moved to the front of his jeans, stroking his arousal. Her body shivered beneath him as she rested her back against the wall.

One of his hands rested on her breast, stroking and kneading while the other moved down towards her hips and dipped a finger below the waistband of her skin-tight jeans and traveled slowly around to the button in the front. He swiftly unhooked it and moved his mouth from her breast downward, paying attention at the spot right above her bellybutton, knowing how sensitive it was for her. The hand on his neck rested there as he descended towards her core, while the other stopped and reached for his hand, that was still on her chest.

He let out a shaky breath against her navel, before darting his tongue over it once more. She squeezed his hand before releasing it. She shifted her hips forward as he pulled down the zipper. Her trousers were soon abandoned on the kitchen floor and she was leaning over him pulling unbuttoning his shirt. Her breasts hung in front of his eyes and he cupped them once again, leaving a kiss between them, before licking her chest. He shrugged off the shirt and she immediately unbuttoned his pants and smirked.

"You're wearing matching lingerie. You know me too well." He said in that deep voice of his. She chuckled and gasped when his fingers traced the outline of her panties.

"Take them off… now." She ordered, throwing her head back. He smirked and kissed her thighs, before lowering the remaining piece of lace that still covered her body. He then lowered his trousers to pool at his ankles. His tongue lapped up the dew on her thigh before pulling her closer to the edge of the counter, and pushing her legs further apart. She moaned his name as he dipped his tongue inside her. He applied more pressure, his fingers grazing the back of her thighs. He flicked her clit with his tongue and slid a finger inside her. Her hands had long abandoned him and were at her breast, squeezing, kneading, pulling. Her head was thrown back as she let go of everything. He could feel her tightening; getting so close and he added another digit.

"Oh dear god, screw the kitchen." She mumbled causing him to chuckle. He nipped her clit with his teeth before pressing his tongue flat against it hard while adding a third finger. Cuddy finally let herself go completely, trying to smother her yell of pure pleasure with her hand, which was now covering her mouth, a finger firm between her teeth as she bit onto it. She shook beneath his

mouth and fingers and was now played out before him, looking so satisfied and still longing for his touch. She opened her eyes and looked down at House with a lusty grin. She pushed herself up to a sitting position. Her small lean hand reached up and stroked down his cheek and jaw and he kissed the palm of her hand gently. Her hands continued to move downward till they rested on the hem of his boxers. He groaned what seemed to be a growl as her lips and tongue sucked on the base of his neck. He felt her lips turn up into a wicked smile as he thrust his arousal against the palm of her hand.

She started pulling the waistband of his boxer briefs down, her eyes admiring his erection as she

suddenly reached for his waist and wrapped her legs around him, feeling his shaft grazing her wet core. Her delicate hands stroked his thighs and then ran along his length.

Her hair was still pulled up on top of her head in that messy knot he secretly loved but yet his hand went for it and let her hair cascade down her shoulders and framing her delicate face.

The lust was still bright in her grey eyes. She leaned over him pressing her chest against his as she enveloped his lips with hers in a breathtaking kiss. Cuddy let out was could pass as a giggle as he nibbled at her earlobe. Her head lolled back, ready to take him in and he immediately complied. He slowly thrust into her and she moaned in pleasure. He grasped her hips and her hand ran

over his, her back arched, her head against the wall. His hands moved up and down her sides, teasing her breasts and caressed her smooth back.

When she felt his orgasm come closer, House reached down in between their intertwined bodies and stroked her slippery bud as she continued to wiggle, following the rhythm his hips were dictating. She hissed and gasped and drew him against her, sliding her tongue into his mouth and nibbling at his lip. She withdrew her mouth from his and let out a loud gasp as he hit the right spot with his fingers. She secured her arms behind his back, her nails gripping his shoulders and leaving marks. He pounded into her a couple more times, faster and faster as he felt her muscles clench around his cock. She came screaming incoherently, her sounds muffled by his shoulder. He came soon after, enjoying the way her inner wall clenched around him and the way her teeth nibbled on his skin.

"Screw the kitchen." She repeated earning a chuckle from him. They looked at each other and then down at the clothes scattered around them. After a couple seconds they burst out laughing.

. . . . .

They had dinner together and enjoyed a nice movie while snuggling on the couch. Their relationship was developing quite well. They spent every night together, switching between his or her place. They went out in incognito, still wanting to keep everything under wraps and most of all hidden by the people at the hospital. She didn't fear for her job, for her position as Dean of Medicine, she had told him, but for the relationship itself. He had agreed that they should way a little bit longer and see what was going to happen, especially since Celeste came back into the picture. No one still knew about her being related to them.

Cuddy and the girl hadn't met since the day the two of them had lunch together. But as much as Cuddy would have loved to chat with her on a daily basis, she understood that Celeste needed some time to figure herself out in order to finally embrace her new life in a way or the other. Celeste knew about Cuddy dating someone. What she didn't know was that the man she had never seen was her biological father and both House and Cuddy decided to keep that secret from her and from anyone else until House and the girl were ready.

Later that night, he had received a call from Chase, assuring him that the patient was fine and Richardson would look after the patient till the end of his recovery. Cuddy had been applying lotion on her legs when he got back into the room already in his sleeping attire and sprawled himself on the king-sized bed.

"Patient's fine. Richardson hates my guts for ruining his dinner date with his bimbo." He said, trying to ease the tiredness from his face.

"Dr. Richardson is an old married man." Cuddy replied without looking up at him.

"So what? He has been having an affair with that ginger nurse since she started working here five years ago." He explained. This time Cuddy looked up at him in shock.

"Are you serious?" she asked, earning a nod from the man. "Wow… I had never expected him to be quite the latin lover." She chuckled, sitting the bottle of lotion back onto her bedside table. She crawled up towards him and rested her head on his chest. Her knee rested on his thigh as he held her close to him and kissed the top of her head.

"He ain't a latin lover. His wife has been having an affair with that tall man with the beard from the transplant committee." He continued.

"Mr. Hallward? I thought he was gay." she replied, truly amused by her partner being the king of gossip of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

"Bisexual. He tried to grab my ass a while ago… almost punched him in the face." He explained and Cuddy chuckled.

She closed her eyes and relaxed, lulled by his chest rising and falling in time with his breathing.

"Uhm…" she snuggled a little more against his side.

"What am I? Your teddy bear?" he asked. She nodded against his chest and sighed contented.

Some time later a phone went off.

"I told you to put it on silent." Cuddy mumbled and pinched his arm. House yelped and poked at her side.

"It's yours." He told her and they both groaned in disapproval. She rolled on her back and reached for her smart phone on the bedside table. She opened her eyes and read the caller ID. She immediately sat up and looked down at House.

"It's Celeste." She spoke softly, trying not to panic.

"Well, answer the damn phone." He said, sitting up next to her and looking at his own phone.

"Dr. Cuddy." She answered locking her eyes with his. "What's wrong honey?" she asked, frowning. "Have you called 911? You did the right thing." She paused. "I'm coming there. There's no need to thank me, sweetie. I'll be there as soon as I can." She ended the call and abruptly stood up and opened her wardrobe, taking off the first clothes she could find.

"What's wrong?" House asked, changing out of his pajamas too.

"Her father had an unexpected reaction to the trial. She called 911 immediately and they'll be there soon. The hotel they're staying is 5 minutes from the hospital." She said whilst getting dressed. "I'm going to the hospital." She said, finally turning to face him.

"I'm coming too." He said looking straight into her eyes. Cuddy simply nodded and gently smiled at him, before zipping her sweater and leaving House alone in the bedroom.

He sighed rubbed his face, trying to erase the nervousness he was feeling.

"House?" Cuddy called for him from the doorway. He sighed one more time before following Cuddy to the car.


	8. Chapter 8

**Celeste**

Sorry for the long wait, but you see... I've been busy watching 6 seasons of Doctor Who and 3 of Rizzoli & Isles, plus _Sheis1963_ was here with me c: so yeah, I've been busy being a spinning, derping ballerina Dalek a.k.a I was uninspired. It's my birthday in 3 days, so you better be good boys and girls and leave a review c:  
>Now down to business, I'm not completely happy about this chapter, but I guess it's better than anything since next week I'm going back to school and I don't know when I'll have time to write and procrastinate. A big fat thank you to <em>Sheis1963<em> for helping me out and _partypantscuddy_ for being a fabulous beta c:

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8<strong>

"Everything is going to be alright. I'll be there in ten minutes, okay?" Cuddy ended the call, throwing her phone on House's lap, who was currently sitting in the passenger seat of Cuddy's SUV in complete silence.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Cuddy asked in a whisper. House looked up at her and shook his head.

"Stop being a nervous wreck. We all knew that anything might happen at any moment. The man's condition was not what I would have hoped for and I don't think the trial is that effective. It could work on him but it could be a total waste of time." he stopped. "With Huntington's there's not much to do if not alleviate the symptoms."

"But I mean... with Celeste." she said stopping at a red light. Cuddy looked up at him. "This is all so sudden for her and for me" she paused. "For us."

House's hand took hold of her right hand and squeezed it. Cuddy smiled softly. That gesture was all she needed.

* * *

><p>The Dean strode into the hospital. This time her strides lacked her usual confidence, she was now a nervous and worried wreck. She kept walking towards the elevator, House following right behind her. They went unnoticed by the night staff, either too busy or too tired to care. Only a nurse nodded at Cuddy only to be completely ignored by her boss. House nodded back at the woman who immediately went back to whatever she was doing.<p>

If the ride to the hospital had been frustrating, the minute they spent in the elevator leading them up to the fifth floor was painfully excruciating.

The ICU seemed quite busy yet calm and functional; nurses and doctor were checking on their patients even at this time of night. Cuddy strangely didn't feel the usual burst of elation whenever she witnessed how smooth, functional and perfectly working her hospital was. She felt void of any pride; she felt the worry wash over her one more time as she kept walking.

It wasn't until they reached the other side of the department that they saw her. Celeste was sitting in one of the chairs in front of a closed room, where her father probably laid in his hospital bed. Her head was held between her hands, both elbows resting on her knees. She seemed so tiny, even tinier than usual. Her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail but a few wild curly locks had escaped the elastic band and had fallen onto her shoulders and face. When she heard hurried steps coming towards her, her head snapped up. Blue eyes met blue and she immediately stood up, swaying on her feet before dropping back onto the chair, a hand flying to her forehead in a pointless attempt to stop her head from spinning. Cuddy ran to her side and wrapped her arms around her tiny frame.

The girl sobbed against the woman's chest, her shoulders shaking in an erratic rhythm.

"Thank you for coming." Celeste mumbled still hiding her face in that warm embrace.

"It's the least I can do." Cuddy replied, kissing her head and tightening her hold on the girl.

"I'm so scared..."

"I know you are, but I'm here for you, okay?"

"Thank you." Celeste sniffled, breaking contact with Cuddy for only a second. She sat straighter in the chair and took hold of Cuddy's hand.

House tapped his cane against the wall; Foreman turned around and looked dumbfounded for a moment. He muttered something to the nurse and walked towards the door.

"Can't work on the case. I'm needed here." the Neurologist said, retreating back into the patient's room.

"We don't have a case." House said.

"Then why are you here?" Foreman asked.

"None of your business. I want this case." he stated, reaching for the patient's chart in Foreman's hands. The man reluctantly gave him the file without further complaining.

"There is no case, House. It's a reaction to the medications he has been under lately."

"He's not here because of the trial..." House said reading through the pages.

"Yes, he is..."

"Well, in a way, yes. Patient's here because of the trial or it would be better to say, because of ineffectiveness of such."

"The trial has only just started..." Foreman blurted out.

"I don't want to hear any blah blah blah... has anyone else shown problems with the medications?"

Foreman shook his head annoyed.

"Almost everyone has nausea and sometimes dizzy spells, but that's to be expected..."

"Tell me something that I don't know, please." House snapped.

"House, there's no need to snap!" Cuddy hissed at the man.

"Dr. Cuddy, what are you doing here?" Foreman asked, noticing Cuddy for the first time.

"Not any of your business. Again." House repeated.

"Dr. Cuddy told me to call her if anything happened. She's been helping me since my father and I moved to Princeton." Celeste said, standing up and moving towards the two male doctors. Cuddy followed her and stood next to Foreman, gesturing for him to give her the patient's medical file.

"I know there's no real case, but I want House to work on this." Cuddy told the Neurologist, who nodded his head still confused.

"Back to business." the Diagnostician interrupted. "The medications aren't working on Mr Thompson. His condition has gotten severe in the past few months. The disease developed faster than I've ever seen..." House trailed off lost in thought. "How long has it been since the symptoms started?" he asked, looking at Celeste.

"Since my mother died, about...six months ago." the girl replied. "After she died, both my dad and I went to see a therapist and everything was fine during the sessions, but his mood would change so quickly and inexplicably. One moment he'd be laughing with me and the other he'd be crying or shouting at one of him employees because of something that they have never done. The therapist said it was because of the emotional crisis we were going through but I convinced him to get checked out by a _real_ doctor..." she said a bit sceptically, causing House to smirk. "He started having problems with his legs and arms. It got us quite scared. He was diagnosed with Huntington's soon after." She concluded with a sigh. Cuddy's arm twitched as she suppressed the instinct to wrap the girl into a tight hug. Celeste must have sensed it because she smiled softly at Cuddy and squeezed her hand.

"There's no need to call the team in." Foreman continued.

"I know and I didn't ask for that. But I know that Thirteen is here somewhere, probably down in the conference room getting coffee." Foreman opened his mouth to speak, but was stopped by House.

"No, I'm not going to ask to end your relationship again... as long as you keep the whole schtupping outside my office."

"Make it outside the hospital..." Cuddy muttered, making Celeste chuckle.

A sudden beeping went off. The three doctors and the girl turned around just in time to see Mr. Thompson wheezing and gasping for air.

"What's going on?" Celeste asked, moving towards the glass wall.

"He's in respiratory failure!" Foreman shouted as he raced to the patient's bed, House and Cuddy following him closely.

"Give him Atropine." House said as he opened the drawers, looking for the intubation kit. Foreman did as he was told before taking a grip of the man's shoulders and holding his neck still.

"We need to intubate now!" House moved the bed to stand right behind the patient's head. The Diagnostician opened the man's mouth and pulled on the upper jaw, before positioning the head in the right way.

"Neck slightly flexed, head extended..." Holding the laryngoscope in his left hand, House slowly inserted it into the patient's mouth.

"Back to midline..." House mumbled mostly to himself. When the blade reached the base of the tongue and the epiglottis, House lifted the laryngoscope upwards towards the man's chest.

"Vocal cords into view." he said as he reached for the endotracheal tube and started inserting it. Once he was done, House removed the blade and Cuddy, who was holding the man's legs down to the bed, immediately attached the ambu (BVM) to the plastic tube and started squeezing it every three seconds.

"I'm going to tell the nurse to get a ventilator." Foreman said, leaving the room. Cuddy stared down at Mr. Thompson's relaxed body, still squeezing the small bag. Only when she felt House's hand on hers, she looked up to find his blue eyes on her. He started squeezing the ambu with his own hand and nudged her to the side.

"Go talk to her." he said. Cuddy finally looked at Celeste. The girl was still outside the room, hands pressed against the cold surface of the glass, her face void of any emotion but fear. Cuddy gave one last squeeze to the ambu before caressing House's hand.

"Thank you." she whispered with a small tired smile, before walking away from him. At the same time two nurses came into the room with the equipment requested. House backed away from the patient and let them do their job.

His eyes wandered off to the two women talking quietly in the hallway. Celeste was still staring at her father's motionless figure as Cuddy explained what had just happened. The girl merely nodded before looking at House right in the eyes and mouthing a silent thank you.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter is about... well spoilers! *grins* I've been watching way too much Doctor Who. All I can say is that there will be some CuddyCeleste talking and Cuddy/House fighting *evil grin*.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Celeste**

Okay, I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry :( I really am. In my excuse I have been terribly busy with school :s I'm graduating this years and I have been under a lot of pressure (and still am even though I'm on Christmas break). A big, fat, huge thank you to Sheis1963 for being her silly self and JLCH for pushing me into writing again.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 9<strong>

Cuddy slowly made her way towards Celeste. The girl was staring wide-eyed at the scene inside the room. Her father laid completely motionless on the hospital bed, a tube coming out of his mouth and a doctor pumping air into his lungs. She didn't feel the hand on her her shoulder till it squeezed her gently.

"What's going on?" the girl asked, eyes still locked on her father.

"Respiratory failure. We had to intubate him in order for him to keep breathing." Cuddy explained slowly.

When she stopped, Celeste looked up at her and Cuddy's heart skipped a beat. Her daughter's eyes were staring up at her, red from all the tears. She could see the pain and the worry in her irises; the lack of hope was mixed with something else that the doctor couldn't really understand.

"We have never talked about this and I wish the situation was different but your father condition is critical." she paused. "You have to start thinking about what you want to do if he can't make it."

Celeste diverted her eyes from her mother's. She leaned her forehead against the cold glass wall and took a deep breath. "Is it really this bad?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so. There's a small possibility he may recover, but with his syndrome and the speed of its action, your father's body has been under a lot and respiratory failure is just the first step." Cuddy informed her.

She looked at the girl next to her, slumped against the wall, eyes closed and shoulders shaking slightly. "I have to call my aunt. She's the one who has power of attorney."

"Of course." Cuddy said. "You can call from my office. Just wait a moment, I need to talk to Dr House." When Celeste nodded in acknowledgment, she entered the room and walked over to where House, Foreman and the nurse where standing.

"I'm on it" was the Neurologist's reply to one of House's requests. Soon after he left the room, the nurse finished fixing some wires and without saying a word she left the two doctors alone with the patient.

"How's she?" House asked.

"She barely spoke a word." was Cuddy's fist comment. "I explained to her about the whole medical situation. I'm taking her down to my office to call her aunt. Apparently she's the one with power of attorney on any further decision."

House nodded.

"Are you staying around?" she asked. When House nodded again, she smiled sadly. "Come down to my office in a while, huh?" her hand reaching for his forearm and squeezing gently.

"Yeah..." he mumbled.

With a whispered 'thank you', Cuddy left the room. Celeste was where she had left her, still leaning against the wall but when she saw her mother walking towards her, she took a step towards her and leaned into Cuddy's side, who in utter surprise, wrapped an arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

><p>Almost half an hour later, Celeste finally ended the call. She stood up from Cuddy's desk and sat on the sofa near the door. She looked around herself for the first time that morning. It was just before dawn and the office's lights were off. The only source of light was coming from the clinic behind the glass doors, where a couple nurses were wandering, making sure everything was fine for the next shift. Cuddy had left her in the middle of the phone call after an employee had asked to talk to her.<p>

It wasn't the first time she had been in her biological mother's office, but in that moment she felt that she wanted, or better felt the need, to learn more about that woman. She spotted the framed pictures on the various shelves: every picture was from a different place and moment in her life, but the woman's smile was always the same, welcoming, kind and happy. The frames were polished and simple. Every photograph had a different frame: same material but different shapes and textures. They gave each photograph more importance.

She took one in her hands and smiled. Cuddy and some other doctors were smiling up at him: Thirteen and Foreman were next to each other wearing matching grins on their faces; a blonde woman was resting her head on another man's shoulder, a toothy smile on their faces; two male doctors were looking at the cameras, a glass of wine in their hands, the younger one waving hello. Cuddy was in the middle of the picture: a man had an arm loosely around her waist while her hand was on House's chest. The three of them were all laughing but only the man whose name was unknown to Celeste, was staring at the camera. Cuddy's eyes were closed in the midst of a genuine laugh whereas House was looking at her, a small smile gracing his lips. But what got Celeste attention were the man's deep blue eyes. They seemed to sparkle at the light coming from the giant Christmas tree standing tall behind them.

The doors of the office opened under Cuddy's gentle push, but Celeste got startled nevertheless.

"Oops, sorry." Cuddy said with a small smile.

"I was just looking at these photos." the girl replied. "I like this one." she said showing her the one in her hands. She put it back on its shelf as Cuddy came close to her.

"That's from last year's Christmas party." she said with a smile. "We were all pretty drunk." she commented making a funny face.

"But I think I like this one better." Celeste said, pointing to the shelf above. It was a black and white picture of a way younger Cuddy. A main of dark curls framed her face and a pair of round glasses was perched on her thin nose. She was sitting on the edge of a simple, elegant wooden desk. The surface was covered in books and papers. She had both hands around a huge mug, a pencil tucked behind her ear. Her front was facing the camera but she wasn't looking at the lens but at her feet. "Very artistic." she commented. She felt Cuddy take a deep breath next to her.

"It is" the older woman said.

"You know, I really really like it. I mean the angle is strange, but the light and everything is just... perfect." the girl said, studying the picture.

"You like photography?" Cuddy asked, eyes still glued to the framed picture.

"I kinda do. I'm saving up to buy a professional camera." she informed her. "Dad said he'd buy it for me but... I just want it to be, you know, the first thing that I buy with my own money."

Cuddy nodded. She looked at the young girl, who had now taken the picture off the shelf and was studying it with curiosity.

"Was it a professional?" she finally asked after a good minute.

"Uhm, what?" her mother looked at her quizzically.

"Whoever took the picture... was he or she a professional photographer?" Celeste asked again.

"Ehm, no." Cuddy answered shaking her head vigorously. Then after a while she spoke again. "He wasn't a professional."

"Then he must have a great eye for details." the girl commented.

That he does, Cuddy thought.

"I think you get it from him." she spoke softly.

Celeste looked up at her in shock and surprise. "You mean, _he _took the picture. My father took the picture."

Cuddy simply nodded and smiled sadly at her.

"Wow." was all the girl could say after that.

"So... what did your aunt say?" Cuddy asked, walking to her desk to retrieve a couple of files.

"She was about to call her boss' office to take a leave of absence. Then she was driving over here. She'll be here around lunch time..." Celeste said, sitting back on the couch.

Cuddy nodded. "Okay, so... I have to bring these files upstairs now. It'll take me a couple minutes, then I'm going down to the cafeteria to get us something. What do you want?"

"Nothing, thank you." the girl replied right away.

"Celeste..." Cuddy said with a frown. "You have to eat something."

"I'm really not hungry"

"I know." she continued. "I know how you feel. I know how hard it is, but trust me... all you can do right now is take care of yourself even though it's the last thing you want to do."

"Okay..." Celeste finally caved. "A cup of tea sounds nice right about now."

"Tea?" Cuddy asked a little amused. "You must be the only American teenager who actually wants tea instead of coffee."

Celeste chuckled. "Well, my grandparents from both sides of the family are British. I guess I sort of have it in me after all these years."

"I didn't know that." Cuddy said with a small smile.

"Yup, I usually spend the holidays with them." she explained. "They live in Surrey, just like Harry Potter" she continued in a posh British accent. "I used to brag about it all the time" she concluded, her American accent kicking back in.

"Poor kids" Cuddy commented sarcastically.

"Yeah..."

"So... what do you feel like eating right now?" Cuddy asked, making her way to the door.

"I don't know... anything." the girl said with a shrug.

"Okay. I'll make sure it has extra chocolate" the woman said before offering the girl a smile and turning on her heels.

Celeste smiled and laid on the couch. Maybe she could take a nap in the meanwhile... as soon as her head hit one of the comfy pillows, her eyes closed on their own command and she fell in a dreamless sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Celeste**

oh my god, guys look at that?! It's an update!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10<strong>

_Day 1_

_I was sleeping when Dr House, Foreman and Thirteen came into my father's room. They think I haven't heard them, but I have. My father's going to die soon. And there's nothing they can do. Nothing I can do. _

_Sometimes I wish I believed in God. I'd ask him... no, I'd beg for a miracle or something close to it. I'd ask him to let me say good bye to my mother one more time, to say good bye to my father when the time comes. _

_I've been writing and drawing constantly. It keeps my mind busy. I try not to think about what I'm going to do without my father and every possible outcome I have thought of, scares the hell out of me._

_I wish I were stronger. I wish I were like Lisa. She looks so strong and fearless. Thinking about it though, I'm not sure she really is. I can see it in her eyes when she's by my side._

_She's been with me constantly, either checking up on me every once in a while or literally dragging me out to get something to eat._

_She'd be a great mother. I wonder why she doesn't have kids._

_Well, she has me. But I doubt I count.  
>Maybe I do.<em>

_I wish I do._

* * *

><p><em>Day 2<em>

_I was away for five minutes. I was walking out from the cafeteria when I saw Lisa running towards the elevator. I immediately knew something was wrong._

_Heart attack. Why in the name of god would he have a heart attack?_

_Then House explained it to me. _

_There is nothing they can really do now.  
>It wasn't a shocker to me. I think I had months to get used to the idea that I'd be alone very soon. I guess it'll hit me again when the time comes.<br>House has been checking on my father constantly. I'm starting to think that it's me he's actually checking on.  
>To me House looks like an amazing doctor with a massive ego. But I guess the huge ego comes with doing what he does. Solving what other doctors can't solve. Curing people because he knows he can.<em>

_I can see him walking outside the room, glancing in and then walking past. I wonder why he does that. The nurses have told me that he never visits patients. And yet, he checks on my father every couple of hours and his is not even a real case. Once again, I think he's checking up on me._

_Even though Lisa hasn't talked to me much about her boyfriend (do adults still use that word? Because to me it's sounds weird), I think I know who the man is. House._

* * *

><p>"Celeste..."<p>

The girl immediately opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times. She shook her head and turned around to face the visitor. Her aunt stood by the door. Celeste yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily.

"What's up?" she mumbled tiredly.

"Why don't you let me take you to the hotel? You haven't slept in a real bed for days." her aunt said.

"No, I can't."

"Celeste, you need to look after yourself. You have spent three days in this room. I know you don't want to leave your father's side but all this effort you're putting into looking after him is going to be pointless if you insist on going on like this." the woman said, obviously worried about the young girl.

"Seriously, Aunt Rose... I really can't."

"Yes, you can." the woman snapped back.

"Then I guess, I don't want to." Celeste replied coldly. She sighed when she saw the look of worry and sadness cross her aunt's face. "I'm sorry, I just don't feel like going anywhere when he's like this."

Rose sighed and shook her head in defeat and understanding.

"Okay... fine." she finally said. "I have to go back to Philadelphia tonight but I'm coming back in the morning." she paused for a while. "The doctors have my number and I've told them to contact me is anything happens."

"Okay." the girl said while standing up. "Say hi to Uncle John and to Donna." She walked up to her aunt and hugged her tightly. "Thank you." she whispered.

Her aunt smiled sadly and left the room. The girl went back to the armchair and plopped down on it. She opened her journal and started writing.

* * *

><p><em>Day 3<em>

_Dad has been in a coma for three days now. Nothing in his condition has changed from yesterday. I have barely left his side. I'm sad. I'm confused. My life's so fucked up. Why does it have to be so hard? Everybody else's life looks so perfect. Mine doesn't. Mine isn't. It's unfair. _

_It sucks._

* * *

><p>A knock came from the door. The Dean of Medicine's head snapped up and when she saw who was waiting at the door, she motioned for the woman to come in.<p>

"Mrs. Smith, is there something wrong?" Cuddy asked, standing up from her seat. Rose shook her head dismissively and sat elegantly on one of the chairs in front of the desk.

"I'm worried for Celeste." she stated simply.

"I know. I am too."

"I'm not happy with the fact that you're back into her life and my girl definitely doesn't deserve to go through all of this, but I know that you care for her deeply and that you'll look after her after this is all over." she paused. "I want to be perfectly honest with you. I have tried multiple times to change my brother's mind about... well, about you. I have been a constant in Celeste's life and I have promised him and his wife that I'd be there for her if something ever happened to them."

"I..." Cuddy started.

"Let me talk... but I trust you. I've been here for three days and I've seen you interact with her and with me. You're polite, intelligent, beautiful and strong. Sixteen years ago, you made a decision. The right decision. You gave your daughter a chance to live in a family, to be surrounded by nothing but love. Things haven't turned out great for her, but I guess it's your turn to make things right. You are now given the chance to make a go for it." she stopped talking, looking down at her hands. "That girl is going to be without her only remaining parent soon. She's going to hate the entire world. But she has you."

"Why are you telling me this?" Cuddy asked when Rose stopped talking.

"Because even though I have been a bitch to you these past few days, I trust you with that girl's life. I know you can turn her life a bit brighter day by day. That's what I want you to do." She concluded, standing up and walking towards the door. "I'm going back to Philadelphia for the night and I'll be back mid-morning."

With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving Cuddy with a quizzical frown on her face.

* * *

><p>It was about 7 PM when Cuddy finally managed to get Celeste out of her father's room and into her office.<p>

"What's this?" the girl asked, eyeing the small pile of clothes and the beauty case on Cuddy's couch.

"I thought you would have felt like taking a shower without having to go back to the hotel." Cuddy replied softly. Opening the door to her personal bathroom and pointing towards it.

"Oh my... I thought I was going to smell like this for the rest of my life." Celeste said, gathering everything in her arms and running inside the bathroom. Cuddy chuckled and joined her in the small but spacious room.

"Why don't you take a shower and I get us some food?"

"God, can we have Chinese?" the girl asked.

"Of course. Anything in particular?" Cuddy asked, typing something on her Blackberry, looking for the number of the Chinese take-away down the street.

"I want shrimp." the girls stated, while turning the water on. "Uhm... honey walnut shrimp and fried rice with shrimp. Make it for two. I'm starving."

"Okay..." Cuddy said, looking at the girl in disbelief. The prospect of a shower and food had done wonders to her mood. "Anything else?"

"Nope." Celeste said, shaking her head. Cuddy took a step back, towards her office when Celeste spoke again. "Lisa"

"Huh?"

"Thank you." she said simply. "I'd hug you but I don't exactly smell nice." she said with a laugh.

Cuddy shook her head and laughed, before walking towards the girl and wrapping her arms around her small frame.

"You can hug me whenever you want, honey." she said. "Now-" she paused, releasing the girl from the tight hug. "-you go shower while I order in."

Cuddy walked out of the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Right there, the doctor smiled and felt her heart beat just a little bit faster. Celeste seemed to have accepted her as a sort of motherly figure and this made Cuddy want to scream in joy.

* * *

><p>Ten minutes later, Cuddy was lazily checking her personal email account when House waltzed into her office with nonchalance.<p>

"Hey..." he said, walking closed to her desk.

"Hi..." Cuddy replied with a soft smile.

"I went to check on Celeste, but she wasn't in her father's room."

"I convinced her to take a break." she informed him, standing up and walking towards him. "She is now taking a shower while we're waiting for our take-away order to get here." she continued slowly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Girls night in." he commented, pecking her lips.

"Being stuck in a hospital is not the best thing in the world for a sixteen years old girl. And her aunt's gone back to Philadelphia for the night, so she's mine to deal with till tomorrow morning and I couldn't be happier." Cuddy said, her smile widening with every word.

"So I won't see you tonight." House said, his hands now resting on her waist.

"I am sorry, House, but..."

He kissed her one more time. "I understand and trust me, I wish the situation was different and I could join the two of you."

"Maybe next time?" Cuddy proposed and House nodded. "I'm going to miss you."

"Will you, really?" he mocked her.

"Oh, do shut up!" she replied.

"Make me!"

"Maybe I will."

And with that he kissed her.

"Oh gosh, really?" a third voice said. The two adults turned around to face Celeste who had just opened the bathroom door and was staring at them with a smirk on her lips. "I'd say that it's gross, but I actually find all of this kind of adorable."

"Celeste..." Cuddy started.

"It's not like I didn't know you two were together." the girl simply stated, plopping down on one of the armchairs and smiling up at the couple.

Cuddy and House shared worried and incredulous looks before Celeste finally decided to pull them out of their misery.

"Oh come on, really? Like no one in this hospital has realized that there's something going on between the two of you." she said. "It is quite obvious, you know. I've been here for three days and I know that there are bets going on."

Cuddy gaped at that, while Celeste could have sworn House was chuckling under his breath.

"Soooo... House, are you joining us for dinner?" the girl asked.

"I..."

"If you say no, I'm going to be very pissed." she continued. Cuddy smiled softly at him and placed her hand on his arm.

"I don't have much of a choice, now do I?" he said, plopping down on the couch and smiling at the girl.

To Cuddy it just felt right.


	11. Chapter 11

**Celeste**

Hello, it's me. I'm still alive and fine. I know I'm a terrible specimen of human being for not updating in almost a year but my last year of high school has just concluded and I'm left studying like a mofo for the exams. But I warn you, I have one last exam on the 5th, Hugh's concert on the 15 and then I'm all yours :)

You have to thank _Sheis1963 _for talking me (I say spanking me) into writing this update. It's rather short, I know, but I'll make it up to you. Thanks for sticking by :)

* * *

><p><strong>Previously on Celeste...<strong>

_"Soooo... House, are you joining us for dinner?" the girl asked._

_"I..."_

_"If you say no, I'm going to be very pissed." she continued. Cuddy smiled softly at him and placed her hand on his arm._

_"I don't have much of a choice, now do I?" he said, plopping down on the couch and smiling at the girl._

_To Cuddy it just felt right._

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

Thirty minutes later, almost all the food ordered was already gone from the coffee table. Celeste was sitting on the ground, currently studying the texture of the carped underneath her. Cuddy was nibbling on her fortune biscuit, sitting a bit stiffly in one corner of the small couch. House was slumped on the other side of it, twirling his cane between his knees absent mindedly.

"I should probably head back upstairs." Celeste mumbled, stretching her arms over her head.

"I won't even try to talk you out of it... I already know that you're not going to listen to anyone but yourself." Cuddy said, eating the last bit of her cookie.

"Girl has got quite an attitude." House commented, smirking at the girl. Celeste shook her head in fake disbelief and put a hand on her heart.

"That's quite offensive, House, dear." she said, smirking, her posh English accent kicking back in for a second. House chuckled and stood up when Celeste did the same.

"I'm coming up with you." he stated. "Gotta check on my patient before heading out." he then turned to Cuddy. "You stopping by tonight?"

Cuddy smiled at him, before her eyes spotted the smirk on Celeste's lips.

"I don't know... I still have a couple things to take care of ." the doctor lied.

"Lisa... go home! I know you've been sleeping in your office for the last few nights because of me. Go home, shower, relax and enjoy your hot boyfriend." the girl said.

Cuddy chocked on her drink before staring at the girl now standing by the door, waving dramatically her good bye. House merely chuckled and followed the girl out of the office but not before sharing a meaningful look with Cuddy.

* * *

><p>"Remind me how you got me to watch this <em>thing<em>..." Cuddy mumbled, her eyes heavy from sleep peeking out from under the covers.

"This is no_ thing_ Cuddy. This is he best show out there." House replied, eyes boring into the screen.

"Mmmm, if you say so." she mumbled, snuggling closer to the man.

"Shhh... here comes the best part."

"_What's this?" the dinner guest asked._

"_Rabbit." replied the host matter of factly._

"_Should have run faster." _

"_Yes, it should have"_

_Flashback to a man being chased by someone then to Hannibal's kitchen where he's cooking some extremely sophisticated plate. Back to present to Hannibal smirking and drinking red wine._

"Why do you find cannibalism so attractive?" Cuddy asked, grimacing.

"I don't find it attractive. It's interesting how humans frown upon cannibalism when we're nothing more but animals ourselves." he replied, stuffing some more popcorns in his mouth.

"Do you think it tastes any different? Human flesh..." she asked, leaning on her elbows before sitting next to him, back against the headboard.

"Why, Cuddy? Wanna try it out?" House asked, bumping her shoulder with his.

"God, no." she immediately replied. "Do you?"

"No need to do that." he replied flatly.

"What?" she almost spat out. House stared at her for a while, his poker face on. When he saw her breathing becoming slightly irregular, he broke into a long loud laugh.

"Oh you jackass! For a moment I thought you actually ate someone's little finger or whatever..." Cuddy said, smacking his biceps, before laying back down and turning her back to him.

"Someone's little finger? Seriously Cuddy?" House sniggered. "Don't you think I have better taste?" he asked, turning the television off. He smiled against her shoulder as she leaned her back against his chest, feeling her muscles relax against his. When she didn't reply, he gently bit the skin of her neck before soothing the red mark with his tongue and a final lingering kiss.

"Stop nibbling on me. I'm not an appetizer" Cuddy said, turning her head slightly to catch a glimpse of him.

"Like you didn't like that" he mumbled against his pillow.

"I didn't say that." she replied, taking his hand in hers and guiding it around her stomach, snuggling into the embrace.

"And you taste better than the any human flesh I have ever tasted" House whispered against her neck.

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, hush. I need my beauty sleep."

After a couple minutes House spoke again.

"Remind me to bring The Cook, The Thief, her wife and his lover next time I'm coming over..."

"House..." Cuddy whined.

"At the end Helen Mirren has her on-screen husband eat her lover's di... ouch!" House yelped in pain as a pissed off but slightly satisfied Cuddy pinched his nipple through his T-shirt, before laying back down, once again snaking his arm around her waist.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Cuddy managed to arrive to work just in time for her first meeting with one of the board members. House had her pinned against the bathroom wall for greatest part of the hour long shower she didn't really intend to take and she managed to stop him from pinning her once again against the fridge when she reached for the soy milk at breakfast.<p>

Thinking of it, they were doing great and even though, the sex was fantastic, their relationship didn't seem to revolve around it. Well, except maybe for that morning. Cuddy tried to hide the smirk from the sixty-something woman trying to convince the Dean of Medicine that having an Elvis inspired ball would be perfect for raising founds.

It was nearly eleven when Cuddy finally managed to stumble out of the woman's umpteenth embrace so that she could make her way upstairs to check on Celeste. She wanted to surprise her and take her out for lunch but when she arrived at Mr Thompson's room, no one was there. Not a single soul.

Cuddy reached for the glass door but stopped dead in her track when she didn't spot a single sign of the girl's presence.

"Sarah..." she called, walking to the nearest nurses' station. "Were there any tests scheduled for Mr. Thompson this morning?" she asked the nurse, who in return stared at her blankly.

"Dr. Cuddy, Mr. Thompson passed away during the night." Sarah informed the Doctor.

Cuddy turned around to look at the room, hand covering her mouth, a soft sob shaking her minute figure.  
>In that moment, the lift's door opened revealing House. As soon as his eyes spotted Cuddy, he limped towards her and let her fall against his chest.<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

This is a very peculiar chapter, but bear with me. I'm going through a lot these days and writing is really helping me take my mind off of things. A big thank you to _partypantscuddy_ for beta-ing this and to _Sheis1963_ for being her usual cuddly bitchy self :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 12<strong>

My father died a month ago.  
>I reckoned writing might help me cope just like the last time.<br>I tried.  
>I tried writing everything that came to my mind.<br>But then I burnt every single word.

* * *

><p>I watch as the fire tears the pages.<br>The crisp white paper turning yellow, brown, grey. Then black.

_Death doesn't exist. People die only when they are forgotten.  
><em>In front of me, these exact words are burning bright among the ashes in my grandparent's house.

My mother told me those words, or, better, she read them to me from an Isabelle Allende book.  
>"If you will remember me, I'll never really die." she told me one day.<br>_I'll never forget you.  
><em>She hugged me tight then till I'd had fallen asleep in her arms. When I woke up, she was gone.

* * *

><p>My mother used to read me poetry before going to bed.<br>And all I can remember right now is how soft yet harsh some of the verses were.  
>She loved Italian poetry.<br>Dad and I would laugh in her face at her pronunciation. Not that we were any better, mind you.  
>We were just as clueless as she was.<p>

_La morte_

_si sconta_

_vivendo._

Life is death and suffering, indifference and discomfort. The real Death is living in particular circumstances and living in those, daily, is how we encounter Death.  
>Real Death is life, with its problems, its contradictions, its pain.<p>

* * *

><p>I'm alone.<p>

I feel pain and betrayal.

I've been left here alone.

I can't do this any more.

* * *

><p>I don't think I can stand another day.<p>

Is it too much to ask to be normal again?

I want everything to go back as it used to be.  
>I want my mother to still be alive.<br>I want my father to keep breathing.

* * *

><p>For the first time this morning I thought about Lisa.<br>I wonder what she feels.

I hope she's not worrying about me. Not worrying too much about me.

I don't know if I'm strong enough to go back to the US.  
>Maybe with time.<br>Maybe as the days go by I'll feel better. My heart will heal and I won't feel any more pain.

* * *

><p>It feels as if I've been stabbed right in the chest.<br>Sometimes right between my shoulder blades.  
>There is no blood.<br>Only the feeling of helplessness that comes with losing so much.  
>With losing everything.<p>

* * *

><p>I haven't played a guitar in years.<br>I went to my granddad's studio and sat on the couch. I contemplated which book to read but ended up taking his guitar out of its holder.  
>The tightness of the chord beneath my fingers. The calming colour of the wood.<br>I played for a couple of hours.  
>It felt good.<p>

* * *

><p>Today I smiled.<p>

Lisa's boyfriend sent me an email. A very embarrassing picture of Lisa, sitting on the toilet in her pyjamas, toothbrush in her mouth. She was fully asleep.

_Laugh a little._

_-H_

And then I laughed.

* * *

><p>It's been five months now.<p>

I don't think I have fully come to terms with the idea that both my parents are gone.

I'm adapting.

I'm coping fine.

I want to call Lisa soon.

But I don't think I have the heart to tell her I won't be coming back to America.


	13. Chapter 13

If any of you manages to get all the references (mostly to one particular show and two of its actors), I may be nice enough to keep writing lengthy chapters like this one :)) a thanks you to my beta _partypantscuddy_ and to _Sheis1963_ who's always willing to smack me and all my self-doubting.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 13<strong>

_6 months after Mr. Thompson's death_

"Celeste?"

"Yes, grandma?"

"Dinner is ready." She said with a small smile.

"Thank you." Celeste replied. She closed her small blue diary, leaving the pen inside as a bookmark, before sitting up from the vintage chaise longue under the window. Her grandmother waited for her at the door and as the girl made her way towards her, the older woman extended her arms, welcoming the girl into a tight hug.  
>Alexandra Elizabeth was a tall and curvy woman. The years might have taken the auburn from her hair but had left the blue-green of her eyes intact. She had always been a gorgeous woman, overly extroverted, with absolutely no ability to maintain a bit of privacy, or modesty. She was exuberant, artistic, and so very lovely.<br>Kissing the top of her head, she gave her one more squeeze before freeing her from her arms and leading her towards the dining room.

This house was bigger than the one her grandparents used to own in the city. The English countryside had helped her grandmother deal with the "end" of her marriage a couple years before.  
>The London house was her grandfather's and since her grandparents' separation, Celeste had only managed to visit him once, unable to understand why a happy and serene couple such as them, suddenly decided to separate. There had been no torrid affairs, no lies and no tricks. As far as Celeste knew, they only wanted more space for themselves. Go figure themselves out.<p>

At the age of fourteen, Celeste had been the mind behind many choices her grandmother made regarding the design of the medium sized cottage. At first she was asked to decide what she wanted in her room but after her parents and grandmother were completely shocked by her artistic talent and knowing that money was not a problem, the teenager had helped choose the style, the colours and the furniture for most of the rooms, including her granddad's office that he would use whenever he came to visit. It was one of Celeste's favourite rooms. Books scattered everywhere, unfinished paintings in every corner and part of his guitars collection decked the main wall.  
>Except for that room, the simple yet elegant style of a small cottage immersed in the Tuscany landscape was the trademark design of the house and Celeste couldn't help but be proud of all her hard work.<br>The spacious garden had been treated to a complete renewal, but that was all her mother and grandmother's doing. An ancient olive tree stood in the middle of a well-kept jungle of colourful flowers. Alliums were everywhere. Those big flowery balls have always made Celeste laugh. "The most ridiculous flower in the universe" she had called them more than once.

Descending the stairs, Celeste thought about all of this, about all the nice memories this house held in its walls. When she finally reached the dining room, she spotted a third plate and an empty vase sitting at the other end of the table. The door to the garden was open and a light breeze was coming in, mixing the sweet smell of the flowers with the spicy and warm scent of dinner.

"Gram, want me to go get some flowers?" she asked.

"There's no need, my love. Your grandfather is already out in the garden." the woman said from the kitchen. "Now, could you come help me?"

"Sure..." Celeste as she walked towards her grandmother. "So... why is granddad here?"

"Well, he has just flown back from Australia. He's been gone for eight months and he wants to see you. You haven't visited him in ages, sweetheart."

"When did he get here? I didn't hear a thing." she asked, mixing the salad. "And as far as I remember, gramps is a total klutz!" she concluded with a small laugh.

"You were taking a nap." the older woman said, smiling. "You were sleeping so deeply, you didn't hear him stumbling into your room, almost taking the door down."

"I'm the clumsiest old oaf on the face of the planet, ain't I?" a third voice came from behind them.

"Gramps!" Celeste squealed, throwing herself into her grandfather's arms. "You should have woken me up when you first got here!" The girl smirked as her grandfather slightly cringed at her American accent.

"You were sleeping like a rock, sweetie. And grandma told me you haven't been sleeping well since you got here." he said, smiling sadly. Celeste nodded against his chest, savouring the warmth persona of her grandfather.  
>Matthew was a tall, lanky man that shared the same grace and mobility of "a drunken baby giraffe on a sugar rush", as Celeste described him every time in front of family and friends. He was a very peculiar man. His jovial and clumsy personality would leave in the very moment he'd step foot in his classroom. Celeste used to spend hours, wrapped in a blanket, listening to him talk and talk about the most random of things. Just like his wife, he had a very artistic temperament when he wasn't working: needless to say, when he reached the age of 50, he decided that his first name didn't suit him anymore; and that young hopeful Matthew should become the older and still hopeful Robert.<p>

Lost in her thoughts, Celeste didn't notice his arms snaking around her small waist 'till he started tickling her.

"Graaaamps, stop tickling me! I'm a grown up!" she shrieked trying to find refuge behind her grandmother.

"I will never stop tickling you and you, missy, know why I'm doing this." he said, smirking.

"Oh Robert, leave her alone!" his wife told him.

"Gramps, I'm not going to do that!"

"Then prepare to be tickled till you can't breathe anymore." he said, lunging for her.

"Nooo, okay... okay... I give up." Celeste said, finally allowing herself to switch to a proper English accent.

"See? It comes so natural to you, I don't why you are so stubborn."

"Just because you teach at Royal Holloway and have a kink for Shakespeare doesn't mean I have to speak like an old lady."

"Hey!" both her grandparents said at the same time.

"Respect Willy!" her grandmother said in a menacing way, trying not to smirk.

"We Britons don't speak like old ladies. Our accent is classy and elegant." the man continued.

"Believe what you want, old man!" Celeste said, popping a slice of tomato in her mouth.

"Liz, tell me that cottage pie will be ready soon... I'm starving and I bet this mean, overly American girl is hungry too." he said, stealing the bowl containing the salad from Celeste's greedy hands and holding it up.

"Yes, grandma. I'm a bit peckish." She said, before walking out the room, laughing.

"She is something, isn't she?" Robert commented, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"She is." Elizabeth said, walking closer to him and gently wrapping her arms around his neck. "She's better now, you know." she sighed, as her husband's arms wrapped themselves around her tiny waist. "When she got here with Rose and John, she wouldn't get out of her room, wouldn't eat and she still has problems sleeping. During the first month she used to wake up 2 or 3 times every night screaming. She still hasn't really talked about what has happened. She won't let anyone in."

"Are you done snogging?" Celeste's mocking question came through the door. "I'm starting to get really hungry here!"

Robert kissed the crown of his wife's head and tightened his embrace before slowly letting her go.

"Let's have dinner now. We'll talk later."

* * *

><p>"Hey baby girl, what are you doing up? It's 4 in the morning."<p>

Robert entered the unlit kitchen carefully. Celeste was facing the window, a huge jumper and pink woollen socks which shone thanks to the last remains of moonlight.

It hit Robert how tiny his granddaughter really was. The white overused jumper covered most of her frame till just above her knees. It was Andrew's. Her father's. His son-in-law used to wear that often and as a kid, Celeste would snuggle up against his father's side and stroke the wool and remark about its softness. He had seen her do that plenty of times, but now everything was different.

Andrew couldn't wear that jumper any more. Celeste couldn't cuddle on the couch with her father.

She was alone.

When she finally heard her grandfather, Celeste shook her head and took a deep breath. Her hands immediately went to her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears that had fallen and kept falling down her cheeks.

"You are allowed to cry, Celeste." He said, walking towards the kitchen counter. "I'm going to put the kettle on, make us some more tea and if you want, we can talk. I'm not going to pressure you into anything." He continued, filling the kettle with water and taking two clean cups out. "We can talk about the weather... about the latest book we read... whatever you feel like talking about, I'm here."

Celeste still hadn't moved. Her eyes were fixed on something in the garden. Her blue eyes shone with fresh tears and Robert could see the gentle quivering of her lower lips.

"Cry." he whispered. "You have the right to cry."

A few minutes passed and Celeste was still giving her back to him. He filled the mugs with her favourite brand of tea, added some milk to both cups and just a tiny bit of sugar in Celeste's.

"Your tea is here. I'll be right outside the veranda."

* * *

><p>"I met my biological mother." Celeste said from the door. "Dad insisted I met her so I wouldn't be alone once he was gone." she paused. "And here I am. Alone."<p>

Robert lifted the blanket he was sitting under and let Celeste huddle herself under it. She took a sip from her cup before continuing.

"Not that she didn't try contacting me. She tried calling me but I never picked up the phone. She texts me every now and then, at first to ask me how I was doing but lately she's texting me random notes about her life back in Princeton…She's beautiful and has a killer career. She's like the super boss in this hospital in Princeton. She has a boyfriend, very handsome and funny. He emailed me last week. Sent me an embarrassing photo of Lisa..." she chuckled.

"I think she deserves a family. They deserve one. And I'm not part of that. Not because they don't want me... they have been great to me, they have been there the whole time while dad was in the hospital... but... everything has happened so fast, I just... I can't, you know. I can't return to the States and live with them, knowing that I am a burden to them. Because that's what I am. I am a burden. To everyone. To Lisa, to House, to grandma and to you..."

Tears were streaming down her face, but her voice didn't falter. The once joyful tone of her voice, was now a monotonous cry for help and understanding.

"Celeste, my darling child." Robert said, hugging the girl to his side. "You're everything to us. You are the most precious of gifts." he paused for a moment, letting Celeste's sobs slow down. "Andrew, your father, he called me last year, told me about your biological mother and what I told him is the same thing I'm about to tell you. Your biological mother made a choice sixteen years ago; she made the best choice for you because she gave you to my daughter and her husband. Two wonderful people who helped you grown up into this beautiful, clever and caring young woman. And I couldn't be more proud of them and of you... You might not know it now but you're family to her. You're her daughter. And just like your grandmother and I, she wants what's best for you, she has always wanted that. And if you do decide to go back to America to her, I'll be happy for you because you can start a new life. If you, on the other hand, decide to stay here, trust me, I'm all for spoiling you rotten."

Celeste's watery chuckle echoed under the veranda. She snuggled under the blanket and took another deep calming breath.

"But if I were you, I'd give your mother a chance to prove how much she really loves you. You only had less than a week to get to know each other. Give it time and you'll see what's in your future, huh? Now... finish your tea and go back to sleep otherwise we'll never going to hear the end of it."

"I will let it pass this time." Came Alexandra's voice from inside the house. She peaked out from the glass door and reached for Celeste's outstretched hand. "Come on, sleepyhead, time to go back to sleep. You too, grumpy face." She concluded, motioning to her husband, offering him the other hand and in the end pulling them into a hug.

"I love you both... so much." Celeste whispered against her grandma's neck.

"We love you too, sweetie."


	14. Chapter 14

I know this is a House/Cuddy fanfiction and that Celeste is a character I made up. I also know that the last two chapters lacked Huddy action but I think it's very important to understand Celeste's state of mind as of now.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

The day of Mr. Thompson's death, Cuddy spent the whole day trying to reach Celeste's phone. The girl seemed to have vanished into thin air and her aunt hadn't even had the decency to pick up her phone and call Lisa back, text her or anything.

Swearing under her breath, Cuddy tried to focus back on her work. It was almost time to go home but she still had to review the latest budget report for the board. The latest stunt the Diagnostic team had pulled wasn't as expensive as she had thought, but there was still an entire glass wall to replace as soon as possible.

After checking her phone one more time, Cuddy tied her hair in a to loose ponytail and tried to complete the file in front of her.

* * *

><p>House was sitting in his office. Completely alone in the darkness and privacy of the room, House let himself close his eyes and think.<p>

It had been a couple of hours since she had left a now calmer Cuddy in her office. Upon seeing the look on her face that morning, House had received such a low blow that it had taken him a while to fully recover. Her blood shot eyes, the tears running down her cheeks, the way her arms were wrapped around herself and her shaking shoulders had scared him.

His boss, and now partner, had been cooped up in her office all day. He had tried to talk her into having lunch together but she had stubbornly refused to leave her office. Red puffy eyes and untamed hair from having spent too much time passing her hands through the wavy locks, Cuddy had then apologized with a sweet rushed kiss, before pointing at the door. House had silently nodded his acceptance and left her alone. Minutes later though, a nurse had entered the Dean's office again, holding a tray of food. Without saying a work, she had placed it on the Dean's coffee table and left, closing the door behind her. Cuddy looked up from her desk and into the clinic. House was staring right back at her, a file in his hand and a patient following closely behind.

It was almost twilight now and the summer breeze was starting to chill the air. House watched as the trees of the nearest park gently swayed. Snorting at the picture worthy landscape, House picked up his phone.

"What do you want, House?"

"I need to talk yo you."

"House, are you okay?" came Wilson's worried voice. "I'm still at the hospital, I can be at your place in..."

"Come to my office." the Diagnostician cut him off.

"Are you okay?"

"Just get your ass in here."

* * *

><p>It took House almost an hour to explain everything to Wilson. The Oncologist had sat in front of him, calm and collected like always. The mop of brown hair on his head would fall on his forehead every so often, earning a mock glare from House every single time.<p>

As House neared the end of the story, Wilson hadn't spoken a single word. He had nodded, sighed and even smiled gently at Celeste's bubbly and sometimes obnoxious personality.

"So, let me get this straight... You and Cuddy have a kid." Wilson stated, still a bit confused.

House rolled his eyes. "That's the major thing."

"And now that both her adoptive parents are dead, Cuddy's supposed to look after her because that was Mr. Thompson's last wish. And now the girl is nowhere to be found."

"She's probably with her aunt in Philadelphia" House said.

"So, now that you've told me all of this... what am I supposed to do?" Wilson asked.

"I need you to talk to Cuddy." House said, looking down.

"It's not me who got her pregnant... you go talk to her."

"You are better at this kind of thing..."

"That might be true." the Oncologist replied with a small smirk.

"...plus I don't want to sleep on the couch tonight." House continued under his breath.

"What?" Wilson spat out, almost chocking on his now cold coffee.

"I'm banging the boss."

"What?"

"We're sort of seeing each other..."

"Seeing as in... dating?"

"We haven't actually been on a real date..." House mumbled, already feeling uncomfortable.

"...yet." Wilson continued for him.

"And now with the all business with Celeste I don't know what she's feeling. This is not my division."

Wilson snorted. "I'll talk to her, see what I can do to help." he said while standing up. When he reached the door, he silently turned back and gave one last look at House. "I know it's not the best time to say this but I'm happy for you two. Try to make it work okay, I'm sure you can be good to each other."

House merely nodded at his friend. Wilson recognized it as a sign of acknowledgment and left.

"Oh and _Relationship for dummies_ tip number one: talk to her. Your best friend is a lousy substitute even if said friend is me."

* * *

><p>"Hey..." Wilson said as he slowly knocked on the half open door. Cuddy was sitting at her desk, hidden behind her computer and typing away. When she didn't look up, the Oncologist continued.<p>

"House told me everything." he said calmly.

Cuddy finally looked up and sighed, her hands immediately going to her forehead, in a vain attempt to soothe the headache away.

"Wilson, I know you're worried but this is really not the time." she said trying to sound as calm as possible.

As if he hadn't heard a single word she said, he quietly sat in one of the comfy chairs in front of the desk and kept staring at her.

"Why do I even bother..." Cuddy mumbled.

"House's worried about you."

"I know." The Dean replied. "Did he send you down here because you're better than him at the whole talking about emotions thing?"

"Might be." said Wilson cheerily. Cuddy chuckled, before finally allowing her hand to let go of the pen she was still holding.

"Did he really tell you everything?" she asked cautiously.

"That he did."

"How shocked were you when he told you about Celeste?" Cuddy asked with a smile.

"I don't think I've actually come to term with that part yet. I'm slowly accepting the fact that you're finally in a relationship, a real and serious one. It might take a while to add the whole "we have a kid" thing to the mix." Wilson said, offering her friend a smile. "But as far as I can tell, House took it pretty well."

"Yes, he did." the Dean confirmed with a smile of her own. "I never thought I would say this, but House has been rather wonderful." she continued truthfully.

At those words, Wilson simply smiled. He already knew Cuddy was going to be just fine.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

_Princeton, December_

Cuddy had had a tiresome day at work. House had been skipping on his clinic hours the whole week and his team was wreaking havoc with the patient's family by breaking into the poor man's house and managing to catch his cheating spouse in the act with the sister in law. House had laughed a great deal when he told Cuddy about it, but she had to stay as professional as her job demanded. That didn't stop her from bursting into laughter the moment the patient's cheating wife had left her office.

After taking her coat and scarf off, she noticed the soft light coming from her bedroom. Smiling, she followed the path the light gave. On her way home, Cuddy had wondered if House was going to show up at her place like usual. It was their thing whenever House had solved the case before the end of her work day and as of lately, he seemed to take less and less time ending each case. This meant that House would already be in her house before her most of the time. And Cuddy couldn't be happier. It was great not to come home to an empty house.

When she opened the door, House was snoring on her bed. He was lying on his back, still completely dressed except for his shoes. Cuddy took her own shoes off and slowly walked towards him, lying next to him. Propped on one elbow, she leaned down to peck him on the lips.

"Mmmm"

"Wakey wakey..."

"Wilson, go away. I was making a rather nice erotic dream starring that British surgeon from TV..." House mumbled in his sleep.

"You better be lying. You should only dream about me." Cuddy replied, smacking him on the chest.

"Like you never have erotic dreams starring George Clooney." he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed.

"Well, usually I include you too... And the actress who plays Veronica Mars.." she replied, smirking against his mouth.

"Uh... Me likey."

"Shut up and make me dinner..." Cuddy said, poking him in the ribs before lying down completely.

"No way..."

"Come on!"

" There's no way in hell I'm cooking tonight. Can't we just order in?"

"We have been ordering in for a week now..." Cuddy complained.

"But it's going to take more time..."

"Stop whining and go to the kitchen..."

House sat up from the bed and looked down at her. Cuddy had finally gone back to normal. She had been completely obsessed over Celeste for the past few months, but lately she had kind of given up. If the girl wanted to talk to her, Celeste would call. She didn't need to stress over it. Cuddy hadn't completely given up but had loosened up a little. They had spent hours talking about the girl, trying to find a solution to their situation. She was their daughter, but as much as Cuddy would like her back into her life, the decision was ultimately Celeste's.

Sighing once more, House left Cuddy in the bedroom to relax while he moved to the kitchen. Rummaging through the cupboards to find some pasta, he thought about their girl. This topic seemed to be something he found himself constantly thinking about. She was his daughter and she didn't know about that particular detail. What would she think of him as her father? She had talked to him only a handful of times, and she probably already had an opinion of him. Maybe that's what was stopping her from coming back to Princeton. Shaking his head and deeming these ideas utter bullshit, he went on with chopping onions and garlic. He threw them in a pan with some olive oil and started to work on the zucchini and smoked salmon.

He should do something, something practical, he thought as he poured some white wine in a glass. Celeste had never replied to any of Cuddy's phone calls, texts or e-mails. She didn't even reply to the few ones he had sent her. At that, he smiled. His were stupid ones, mostly silly stories about things at the hospital, cases, Cuddy's neat freak attitude or embarrassing pictures of her. He was trying everything in his power to elicit some sort of response from the girl, but all his attempts seemed to be completely futile.

He chopped the zucchini in tiny pieces before throwing them in the pan, adding some white wine and stirring.

House didn't hear Cuddy coming into the kitchen, too deeply lost in his thoughts. She sneaked her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back. Inhaling both his scent and the food's, Cuddy sighed.

"Smells wonderful. How long will it take?" she asked, moving to stay on his side.

"Half an hour, forty-five minutes top." he informed her, offering her some wine from the glass he was drinking from. She took it with a grateful smile and sipped at it.

"I'm going to take a quick shower then..." she said, giving back the glass.

It felt so domestic and surprisingly House didn't feel weird. They had been together for about 6 months now. They weren't in the moving-in stage, but they were surely spending a lot of time together, mostly at her place. His apartment would've turned into a wasteland if it wasn't for the lady he had hired a long time ago. It seemed pointless to have someone cleaning a place he hardly ever went to, but Wilson had known better and had told House not to get rid of the old woman. They didn't usually meet, even though she lived in the apartment above him, but the previous week House had had to go back to his place for something he needed for the case and old Mrs. Haertel had been there, scrubbing his bathroom clean. She had smiled at House and told him to keep that Saint of a woman close. "If she's willing to put up with your shabbiness, then she must be pure gold" she had told him with a laugh.

House stirred the vegetables in the pot and checked if the water had started to boil. He threw a dash of salt in it before weighting the pasta. When Cuddy had found out he could actually cook, she had decided that he was the one entitled to cook in the house. She had even made him seal the deal in a way House still couldn't believe. He had thanked all the gods of yoga for that night. He smirked, put the pasta in the water and sipped the remaining wine. Cooking for her was totally worth it.

He was happy. Really happy. He was aware of it. What he couldn't shake away though, was the feeling that something bad was going to happen. And that terrorized him.

After everything that had happened, no one in his _family_ could endure more.

* * *

><p>It was 2 AM when the phone rang in the house, breaking the silence with its mechanical wail.<p>

House groaned and unconsciously tightened his grip on Cuddy's waist. She groaned too, blinking slowly, her eyes trying to adapt to the lack of light. When she finally noticed where the phone was, her hand darted out of the covers to grab it.

"Lisa Cuddy."

"I'm so sorry... I'm so so sorry..."

After that, the only sound Cuddy could hear was a click.

Then, dead air.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: PLEASE READ.** I decided to wrap up this story in a handful of chapters. I had lots of things planned for this fic but I just can't get myself to write something worth posting. I decided it was better to actually finish this story instead of abandoning it in the middle of things.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

She could see the sun peeking from behind the clouds and feel the chilly air of the winter morning. She could smell the faint scent of coffee and taste it in her own mouth. She could hear the rustling and rambling of people running late. It was as if her senses had heightened, but her brain had shut down.

She felt everything and nothing all at once.

Cuddy kept walking steadily, wheeling her trolley behind. House was at her side, his hand secured on her lower back as he guided her towards the gate, sliding through the buzzing crowd.

It was an early morning in the middle of December and JKF was as busy as ever. Business men in expensive suits looking dapper, a mother saying good-bye to her child and telling him to behave for his dad, a couple joined in a welcome back kiss. House stared at these people, over analyzing every little detail he could spot, just to take his mind off of things. That phone call in the middle of the night had been exactly what he had dreaded. That _something worse _he had prayed not to make it happen.

* * *

><p>"<em>I'm sorry... I'm so so sorry..."<em>

_Click._

_Cuddy let the phone fall from her hands. House opened his eyes and saw her minute form starting to shake. He called her name a couple of times, then proceeded to shake her by the shoulder. _

"_It was her." she mumbled. "She said she was sorry."she continued. _

"_Why would she be sorry, House?"_

* * *

><p>When they reached the gate, Cuddy looked up at him.<p>

"You should come with me."

"No, I shouldn't." he replied curtly. "You're her mother... To her I'm only your slightly mad boyfriend."

"We should tell her about you."

"We will. But not now."

"She needs both of us."

"What she doesn't need is any more drama in her life."

* * *

><p><em>As soon as those words left Cuddy's lips, his head darted up. <em>

"_SHIT!"_

_House immediately reached for the phone. He scrolled through the menu and looked for the incoming calls. When he spotted the unknown number, he immediately pressed Call._

_The monotonous sound coming from the phone was nerve wrecking. Cuddy stared at him with wide eyes, realization suddenly downing on her._

"_Come on. Come on. Pick up." _

"_Smiths' household." came a female voice._

"_Is Celeste okay?"_

"_What?"_

"_Check on her, NOW!"_

"_Who are you?"_

"_Go check on her, for god's sake!"_

"_What's going on?" A third voice, a man's voice, could be heard on from the other end of the phone._

"_I'm her biological mother... Celeste called us. Go check on her, now!" Cuddy yelled at the phone. _

* * *

><p><em>Footsteps. Someone was running towards her bedroom. <em>

_When the door opened, Celeste looked up. She was on her bed, back against the wall. Her messy hair was cascading on her shoulders and covering most of her face. Her small frame was hidden in the baggy pullover. Her tiny hands held onto two different bottles. Alexandra's heart stopped beating._

_Robert immediately leaped from the threshold and took the painkillers and alcohol the girl was holding. He threw them across the room and slowly moved to sit next to her. Then he quietly took her tiny hands in his. Celeste looked up at him. Her deep blue eyes shining with a new wave of tears and Robert could see the utter despair and hurt in those gorgeous baby blues. When she finally gave way to the tears, he held her tight against his chest and when he looked up to see his wife, he noticed the guilt printed on her face as her eyes were fixed on the bottle of pills._

"_Shhh, it's going to be alright, sweetie." he whispered into her ear._

_Alexandra moved her hand to her mouth out of habit. Realizing that the phone was still clutched in her hand, she moved it to her ear._

"_Come. She needs you too."_

* * *

><p>"We both know that when we will tell her about me, she won't speak to us for a month and sulk and, mind you, she has the right to."<p>

Cuddy sighed. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his chest. His arms snaked around her waist and hugged her tight to him.

"Now, come on. Your flight is leaving in less than an hour and they're starting to let people in." he said.

His eyes never left her as she walked towards the gate. She turned around, smiled and waved. He could only do the same as she disappeared through the crowd.

Everything was going to be alright.


	17. Chapter 17

**Celeste**

**Chapter 17**

When the plane finally touched the ground, Cuddy was jostled awake. Six hours into the flight she had finally succumbed to sleep, her dazed mind giving in to tiredness. Stretching her legs and arms, she looked outside to see the main building of the Heathrow airport in the distance. Passengers were already buzzing with excitement after eight tiresome hours of being cooped up in too little space. Cuddy closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before reaching under the seat for her purse. Turning her phone on, she sighed in relief when no missed calls but only a couple of message notifications from House and Wilson were blinking up at her.

As she followed the rest of the fliers down the aisle and off the plane, Cuddy was on auto-pilot. Being away from civilisation for eight whole hours, not being able to call someone or be called in case of emergency was one of the worries that were taking over her mind. For six hours of the flight, she had worried herself to exhaustion, thinking about her daughter, her ultimate gesture to end the pain and sorrow. Celeste seemed so strong on the outside, her quirky and bubbly personality perfectly hiding what she was really feeling. That girl had to endure so much in the past year, Cuddy thought: the loss of her mother, her father's illness, being thrown into the arms of her biological mother and then the final straw. Her father's death.

It took Cuddy some time to get her luggage back, but eventually she managed to sashay away from the crowd and towards the exit. Celeste's grandmother had told her someone would pick her up, either her husband or her, so Cuddy looked around for a good ten minutes, not really knowing what to do since she had no idea who to expect. Suddenly a blonde, grey-ish head of wild corkscrew curls came into her vision. A woman in her forties, Cuddy guessed, was walking towards her, a small smile on her lips. She was wearing a flowing orange dress, with an intricate pattern of pinks and yellow, under a thick black coat. She looked radiant, the dress accentuated the golden tone of her skin and her green eyes. The very first impression Cuddy had of that woman was a blur: she was undeniably gorgeous, all curves and curls, but there was something in her that seemed to defy every law known to mankind, dress code included. Plus if that woman really was Celeste's grandmother she had to be at least in her sixties.

"You must be Lisa."

"I am."

"I'm Alexandra, we better hurry or we'll get stuck in the traffic. Plus I'm always worried when my husband and our little girl are left alone in the same house." she paused to look at the obvious confusion on Cuddy's face. "They're both unbelievably clumsy and prone to disaster." Alex continued with a smile. "When Celeste was six, they almost burnt down my kitchen. Needless to say, they're no more allowed to cook. The only thing they can do in there is tea." Cuddy let herself smile at that.

When they finally reached the car, Alexandra helped with the luggage before reminding Cuddy that she should probably go to the other side of the car, unless she wanted to drive. The doctor almost face-palmed herself.

"Ugh, I always forget about this."

"It takes some time, sweetie. I've lived in America a number of years and it took a while when I first moved there and then back here."

Half an hour later, Alexandra was parking in front of Tesco. Halfway out of her seat, she turned to Cuddy and apologized, saying that she needed to buy a couple of things for dinner.

"No need to apologize... go ahead"

"Sweetie, you'll soon find out that British people say sorry and please way too many times in a conversation." she replied smiling. "So, please excuse me. I'll be gone 5 minutes, 10 top." Cuddy chuckled as Alex smiled politely at her before disappearing inside the shop. She got out of the car, fastened her coat and shivered in the cold air. Quietly she stretched her legs and walked around the car a couple of times. She leaned against the side of the vehicle and pulled her phone out.

"House."

"Hey."

"Hey. How are you?"

"I'm good. We're almost there now. How is it going?"

"Good, managed to piss Wilson off but he bought me lunch nevertheless, so..." Cuddy chuckled.

"I have to go, patient's test results are back. Call me when you have talked to her okay?"

"Okay."

"House... I love you." She said so in a whisper, tears stinging her eyes. Cuddy felt so small in that moment, leaning against the wrong side of the car, wishing that her daughter was fine and that the man she loved was with her.

Her proud, fierce and strong Dean of Medicine persona was as far away from her as possible, what was left of Cuddy were all her insecurities and worried. She was scared of Celeste's current state of mind, afraid of scaring House off with her confession. But all she needed right now was to feel something other than worry.

"I love you too."

To her surprise, it wasn't a whisper. His voice was loud and clear through the phone and Cuddy would have done everything in her power to hug him or have him by her side.

"I really do." he continued. "Now go and take care of our kid. If she's anything like her parents, she's in for one hell of a time." he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"I will." Cuddy concluded the call with a smile, wiping the lone tear from her cheeks. Alexandra stood in front of her, a wicked smile on her lips.

"Was that the famous Dr. House?"

"How do..."

"Celeste. She likes him."

"Really?"

"Of course. She brags and brags and brags about the two of you."

"I... I should probably explain something to you, but I think wait till we get there so that I can talk to both you and your husband at once."

Alex nodded soberly.

"Five minutes and we'll be there."


	18. Chapter 18

**Celeste**

My best friend is evil and gave Cuddy ovarian cancer. I hate her. (I'm talking about Sheis1963's Fortuna).

**Chapter 18**

When the car stopped a second time, Cuddy took her time getting out the vehicle as she looked around. The cottage was in a rather secluded park, if she could call it such. The garden all around it was filled with every kind of tree and Cuddy could only imagine how wonderful it'd look in the spring.

Alex was already at the door, a rather tall and gangly man was talking to her. When he spotted the doctor, he smiled and walked out of the house and onto the rather large patio.

"You must be Lisa. I'm Robert."

"Nice to meet you." He leaped towards her, extending his hand for her to shake and tripping over his own feet.

"Sorry, I'm incredibly clumsy."

"It's no problem, really. I'd be quite clumsy too if I had such long legs."

Robert stared at her for a while before bursting into laughter.

"That is a new one." He commented, popping the back of the car open. He retrieved Cuddy's suitcase, shushing her off when she moved to take it. "Celeste is quite clumsy too. I like to think she got that from me... She is elegant and delicate while doing sports, but she can be phenomenally clumsy every other moment."

Cuddy remained silent as he led her inside. The house was warm and welcoming. Alex was in the kitchen and Cuddy could already smell Jasmine tea in the air and freshly baked goodies.

"The kid's asleep. Alex is making tea and finishing fixing supper. We set the backhouse up for you. It's not that big, I'm sorry, but I hope you can find it welcoming." He said pointing to one of the doors that lead into the backyard. A small cottage-like house could be seen beyond the line of rose bushes. "I'm going to take care if your luggage. Celeste is sleeping, but I thought you might want to go check on her." He continued, pointing toward the stairs.

"Sure, thank you. You've already done so much and it's hasn't been five minutes since I arrived. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

* * *

><p>Careful not to make any noise, Cuddy walked up the stairs on her tip toes. There were several white wooden doors in the hallway but one was slightly ajar and a soft stream of light radiated from it. She slowly walked the short distance and peeked inside.<p>

The room was a mix of cream and black, the only touch of colour came from the canvasses on the opposite side of the bed. A wide drawing desk was covered in doodles and at its feet, four piles of books and journals made for a makeshift coffee table with pencils, rubbers, and several rulers scattered on top. The curtains were drawn and the only light in the room was from a small lamp on the bedside table, next to an almost empty cup of tea.

Celeste laid on the bed surrounded by different shaped cushions. A knitted afghan was draped on her and her hands held onto the coloured yarn tightly. Her face was almost completely covered by her riotous dark curls and to Cuddy she looked even paler and smaller than usual.

She walked towards the bed and gently sat on it, adjusting the blanket on the sleeping girl. Celeste unconsciously snuggled into it and tightened her grip. Cuddly smiled and leaned down to move her hair and place a tender kiss on the crown of her head. The girl nuzzled into her touch and opened her eyes.

"Lisa?"

"Hey..."

"What are you doing here?" Celeste asked, sitting up slowly and peering into the cold cup of tea. She gave it a sniff and then took a sip. Grimacing, she put the cup back onto the nearest flat surface and leaned her back against the wall.

"You know why I'm here."

"Yeah..."

Cuddy stared at her for a good minute while Celeste's eyes were fixed on her hands.

"I know you're not fine. I know you're in pain, you have the right to... but please, please don't do that again."

Celeste locked eyes with her mother, tears streaming down her cheeks. Lisa tossed her shoes off and laid down, dragging Celeste down next to her.

"I'm so sorry."

Cuddy shushed her and placed another kiss on her forehead.

"I don't want to hurt anymore."

"Listen to me, love. You have me, you have your grandparents, and we love you." She paused, tightening her arms around the girl's small frame.

"When I was about your age, I lost my father too. My mother and my sister took comfort in each other's' presence, but I had always been a daddy's girl. I know how much it can hurt. I know that in your case it hurts even more. You feel as if you're so small and the world is big and dangerous and unjust and you want to disappear and make it all end. But it doesn't work like that. You have to believe in yourself, believe that you can make it out of this. In a few years you're going to look back and it'll still hurt, but you'll know that you succeeded. One year from now, you'll be a completely different human being. You'll be a woman..." Cuddy let out a watery chuckle. "A beautiful young woman... and you'll have me and your grandparents."

Celeste closed her eyes and let Cuddy caress her and kiss her forehead every now and then. They laid on that bed for another hour, breathing gently and in complete silence. Then someone knocked on the door and Alexandra gently opened the door.

"Darlings, dinner is ready." She announced softly, before opening the door completely and going back downstairs.

"Come on., let's go."

* * *

><p>Alexandra had cooked what seemed to be a feast. If that's how it was going to be for all her stay, Cuddy promised herself she'd take on running daily. Celeste had excused herself ten minutes before, claiming that Doctor Who was on TV and she wasn't going to miss it. Robert had of course run into the kitchen to make tea and popcorn for the two of them and the two were now sprawled on the couch.<p>

Alexandra and Cuddy were still at the dining table when he came back half an hour later holding both cups.

"She dozed off."

"Lisa, is there something going on with her?" Alexandra asked. "Medically, I mean."

"Has she been sleeping this much since she arrived?"

"No, it's been like this for the past two days." she replied.

"Since she got here, she's been having trouble sleeping. After what happened yesterday, she has slept about 20 hours, on and off." Robert explained.

"Sleeping this much is a symptom of depression, but I wouldn't worry about it. Not for now. If it keeps happening though, we might need to intervene." Cuddy paused. "But as you've said, she had been having trouble sleeping, so I think she's just catching up. And we need to think about the emotional stress. The loss of a parent is something huge for anyone, especially for a teenager. The loss of two parents..." she stopped.

Both Alex and Robert nodded.

"You said you had something to tell us."

"Yes. I want you to trust me with her and I feel that I need to tell you everything."

"Darling, there really is no need... Andrew and Emma have told us all we need to know and we trust you."

"There is _something _they didn't know." Cuddy paused, looking at the two of them. "When I first talked to Celeste, she asked about her father and I... I told her he was never in the picture and never would. But –" She sighed, "– there have been recent developments." She paused again, feeling like she was talking about some business transaction. "There are only two people who know who Celeste's father is and that's me and House. He and I, we go a long way back and-"

"He's my father."


	19. Chapter 19

**Celeste**

I wrote this while sleep deprived, hungry and on a train. I warn you.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 19<strong>

"I already know. I have known for a while." Celeste continued, walking closer to the living room table and sitting on a chair.

"How?"

"I'm not dumb. I observed and put two and two together. Really, it wasn't hard to miss." She said, munching on a slice of whole grain bread still on the table. "Plus I have his eyes."

"That you do." Cuddy whispered, staring at her daughter, who was clearly taking this not as hard as she thought she would.

"And the way you look at us when we're talking or doing something together, you seemed to be worried about something and for a while I thought you wanted me to, in a way, accept your boyfriend, but it was obvious I liked the man... so you must have been worrying about something else." After chugging down a glass of water in a very unladylike manner, she continued. "He's a smart ass, just like me, which leads me to think it must be somehow genetic." She chuckled. "And he looks at me in almost the same way he looks at you: he looks at you with love and lust; he looks at me with love and understanding. It didn't take me long to figure it out."

Alexandra, Robert, and Lisa sat still, looking at the seventeen year old girl in front of them. She was far more mature than kids half her age and carried a burden adults would most likely die under. She was a clever, bright girl and after hitting rock bottom, she was finally finding her strength again.

Cuddy stood there completely speechless. She saw so much of herself in that girl and was so proud of her for putting up with everything. Cuddy herself had taken time to reconnect with her maternal side after her estranged daughter had come back into her life. Add her newly found relationship with House and she had needed some time to get used to it all. Celeste seemed to be able to accept things, take on their consequences and move forward with her life.

"So I was thinking..." Celeste prompted, breaking the slightly awkward silence. "Christmas is in more or less two weeks... Could you and House stay over for the Hols?"

Cuddy stiffened a little.

"I didn't book a return ticket but I was thinking of returning home next week. I need to check on the hospital..."

"You mean, check that House hasn't burnt the place down?"

"Or make sure that he and Wilson have stopped playing laser tag in the hall and clinic..."

The Cuddys laughed at House's antics, while poor Robert and Alex stood there confused.

"One day I'll tell you about that." Celeste told her grandparents, trying to stifle laughter. "You should fly back here for Christmas with House and stay till after New Year's Eve. Gramps and grams always do this thing on New Year's Eve on the Thames. Last time I spent the Hols with them, they took me there and it was so boring and these two might be separated but they're sickeningly sweet."

"Separated?"

"It's a long story."

"They're stupid."

"Celeste!" Both grandparents replied.

"What? You guys love each other to bits, but because you feel the need to have more space for yourselves, you live in two different houses. That's ridiculously barmy."

"Celeste..."

"I'm just stating my opinion." She shrugged.

"Anyway, Lisa. You can stay as long as you please and House can stay in the backhouse with you. And Celeste is right, we always go to this cruise on the Thames that would bore her to death. You can consider it a vacation. You have a career and I'm sure you haven't taken a holiday in years."

Cuddy sighed thoughtfully.

"Oh come on, Lisa. The hospital is not going to fall apart if you're not there. I'm sure Wilson could handle it."

"It's Christmas, Celeste. Wilson has a-"

"A diabetic cat and three ex-wives. That's not family." Celeste shut her up. "But you do have one."

Cuddy stood there, taking in her daughter's last words. Yes, she had a family now. An unconventional, half British family to spend the Holiday season with.

"Okay, I'm going to call House and ask him what he wants to do."

Celeste beamed and Cuddy knew that girl had everyone wrapped around her fingers.

* * *

><p>Later that night, after Alex and Matthew said their good nights, Celeste and Cuddy sat on the couch in the living room with a steaming cup of tea.<p>

"This tea is really good." Cuddy said, breaking the silence.

"It's Australian or something. Grandpa brought it home from his latest trip to Australia." The girl explained, taking a sip from her own cup.

"Does he travel a lot?"

"He is this super brainy English professor, who's always traveling around the world to teach cultureless idiots about the Great British Empire's Literature." She paused. "Wait..."

Celeste darted up, throwing the afghan to the floor and running towards the kitchen. A couple of minutes later, she was back, holding three boxes of biscuits.

"This are Tim Tams. They're the most sinful Aussie biscuits I have ever tasted. There are so many different flavours and they are all so bloody good."

"I can see the British in you." Cuddy commented, plucking a biscuit from Celeste's outstretched hand.

"Grandma is used to my American slang and accent; she had lived in America for years, but my grandfather is a bit of a freak and I usually revert to a British accent when I'm talking to him. Otherwise he'd tickle me to death." She explained, munching on a biscuit.

"These are good!" Cuddy mumbled, taking another biscuit and biting into it.

"Wait till you get to the dark chocolate mint ones. They are to die for! It's a shame they only sell them in Australia, but I thank the Internet Gods for online shopping and worldwide shipping."

They sat on the couch in companionable silence. After finishing her tea, Cuddy laid her head on an arm of the couch with her eyes closed. She took a deep breath and snuggled deeper into her cocoon of blankets, trying to relax and fight the effects of the jet lag.

"You should go to bed, Lisa."

"I'm not tired... well, my body isn't, my mind says otherwise."

"I know how you feel; I've been traveling between these two continents almost constantly. You never really get used to it, but you learn some tricks."

"Care to share?" Cuddy asked through a smile. She heard Celeste shift in her seat, the rustle of the cloth and wool and suddenly a warm weight was snuggled against Cuddy's side. She opened her eyes surprised to find the girl lying next to her, an arm around the woman's waist. She smiled and made herself comfortable on the too small for two couch.

After a moment of silence, Celeste spoke up.

"After every transatlantic flight, mom and dad would take me to their bedroom and we would all lie on the bed. I was always so wired up from the flight and the jet lag that the only way to make me fall asleep when it was time was to snuggle and cuddle with them." She let out a watery chuckle. "It seems silly now, but it does help."

"It already is, honey." Cuddy said, holding her daughter tight and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.


End file.
